Fear and loathing in Las Vegas

Two thumbs up for the flick! Its a dramatic psychedelic comedy to say the least. Johnny Depp has overacted a bit but he can get away with it because he is supposed to be zonked out on drugs throughout the movie, so he is allowed to do the overact. Road trip through the barren Nevada desert with a psycho friend and both totally high on drugs n life in general...sounds like a recipe for brain-frying adventure without giving a damn about anything in the world...Now for the main plot, one can always refer to imdb and wiki, this isn't the place for it...I liked the general affinity towards bohemian style and to know that its based on someone's real-life experience is quite amusing and envious...

Ok this review is to be continued...

No country for old men

The 2007 Oscar winning film by Coen brothers was spectacular! After a long time I have seen such a stylish thriller. Its no wonder that it won 4 academy awards including the best picture. The movie has a tranquil, dry, barren background of the wild west and maintains that tone/feel throughout. The various motels near texas/mexico border are shown to be quite tense and creepy with people carrying guns and weapons freely. There is a lot of bloodshed, thanks to the silent presence of Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem, who btw was fantastic. His character was my most favorite in the movie. His mere presence in the scene is threatening enough. He walks around calmly like an angel of death with a never-seen-before weapon, which he uses to blow off the locks on doors and to kill his victims by creating a hole in the head. His weird haircut and the weapon gives his character a mysterious, psychopathic air, which was superb. Even the scene where he shoots a bird sitting on a metal bridge entering Del Rio and the jarring sound that the bullet makes afterwards was taken superbly. Or even the other scene where he unscrews the grill using a dime was simply brilliant. He sure as hell deserved that Oscar for the best supporting actor's role. Josh Brolin's character gets a lot of sympathy right from the beginning. Though the movie starts and ends with a narration by Tommy Lee Jones, his character, I thought was underplayed and did not have much scope to develop itself. But he fitted the role of a county sheriff in the cowboy land. I guess, his character is 'supposed to be' the central one and hence the name of the movie is what it is. The ending, as seen before in Coen brothers' movies, is abrupt. Though the movie revolves around a black bag full of cash, its irrelevant in the end who gets the loot or what exactly had happened on the remote location with dead bodies lying around where the money was found. Its mainly the portrayal of the characters and the wild feel of the movie that remained in my mind afterwards. But all in all its a beautifully crafted thriller drama with lot of style and character to it.

Man Bites Dog

Run Lola Run

Candide

Office Space

This blog is way too long overdue and this is an attempt at updating it! Watched this movie Office Space couple of days back and liked it! I think Im a lil too late to watch it as everyone else I talked to had already seen it. Its a simple low budget movie based on the daily grind of people who are stuck with unsatisfying jobs. I liked the way they have shown the boss, the general useless paperwork carried out in most offices and the irritating co-workers. The performances are low key and just to the point, no overacting or underacting here. The later half was kind of a let down though, as it looked like it was rushed because the storyteller was running out of ideas. Overall its pretty funny and entertaining, though there was a scope for potraying the characters more creatively.

Oceans 13

Too glittery, Brad Pitt looks lost (in his personal life)
As usual, the "thieves" are the smartest and most detail oriented people in the world full of fools running the casino. Hence they win. Sequels continue to suck!

The Namesake

A serious and mature performance by Kal Penn. Tabu and Irfan Khan are good as usual. As usual I won't say the novel is anytime better than the movie, because the movie has made justice to the original story. Except for a few parts eg how he comes up with the name "gogol" etc are pretty true to Jhumpa Lahiri's book.
India's portrayal is very gaudy, its very stereotypical from an outsider's eye.
Otherwise, worth a watch if you are bored to read the book.

300

Really good war epic!
Part pf 'making of Spartans' is boring, but war scenes are good. Though a bit chliched look, the cinematography is nice.
Performances are just about average and the chiseled bodies Spartans look really magnificent.