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Up (Blu-ray)

Broken — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:29:39 +0000

1 January 2010 – Friday

Up is Pixar’s 2009 entry to their ever-growing catalog of superb animated classics. I missed seeing Up when it was in the cinemas, so I avoided any discussions about the movie, and went into it knowing only the bear minimum.

What a delightful movie this was. It’s definitely one of Pixar’s most mature movies to date in my opinion. The start of the movie was thoroughly depressing, and it almost had me in tears! Fortunately things became a bit more light-hearted from there onward, but it retained the premise that it set up in the start all the way through.

I’d say that Up is now my favouritest Pixar movie to date, pushing Monsters Inc. into second place. And man, I would love for my dog to have a collar like that!

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Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Broken — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:52:36 +0000

4 October 2009 – Sunday

Zack and Miri Make A Porno is an entertaining, if predictable romantic comedy from Kevin Smith. Expect some staple Smith type comedy and visual gags. A surprisingly well handled movie though, especially taking the subject matter into consideration. It also had quite a decent soundtrack to go along with the movie, which always helps.

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Quantum of Solace (Blu-ray)

Broken — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:38:09 +0000

19 April 2009 - Sunday Quantum of Solace is the newest Daniel Craig Bond movie. It picks up directly where Casino Royale left off, so by my count it's the first Bond movie that's actually a direct sequel. Quantum of Solace is a story of revenge. Bond is out to find the people at the route of Vespa's death, and this leads him on a whirlwind trail across the world. It's every bit as brutal and action packed as the first, in fact, more so even. It's a non-stop race to the finish, and you're hardly able to catch your breath. That's not a lot of depth to the story, but right now I'm more then happy with an all-out action Bond. Blu-ray wise, it's a pretty decent transfer. Image and sound quality if superb, but it's severely lacking on special features. They will most definitely release a special edition down the line, like they did with Casino Royale. Overall, a great movie. If you enjoyed the first Daniel Craig Bond, you'll definitely enjoy this one. Score:

300 (Blu-ray)

Broken — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:18:16 +0000

22 March 2009 - Sunday

300 is the graphic novel my Frank Miller brought to life by Zack Snyder. Snyder most recently brought another comic cult hit Watchmen to celluloid. 300 is the movie that made us all confident that he would be able to give the translation the needed care and attention that it required. Based on the story of the 300 Spartans who stood against the might of the Persian army. The movie and novel are very stylised accounts of the events, it doesnt purport to be an accurate retelling. That given, its an amazing visual experience. Very violent, but all in context. The movie does a sterling job of bringing the graphic novel to the big screen, with many scenes directly recreated frame for frame from the novel. Fans of the novel are in for a treat. The Blu-ray is probably the best way to experience this movie. The picture quality is superb, as well as the sound quality. Its a feast for the eyes and ears. Well worth the price of admission! Score:

Mirrors

Broken — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:55:45 +0000

15 March 2009 - Sunday

Mirrors is one of those movies that's a pleasant surprise. I knew very little about the movie, other then Keifer Sutherland being in it. I didn't really know if it was a drama, or a horror movie as such. Well, it turned out to be a horror/thriller. Keifer's character is a ex-cop, who left after an accidental shooting while on duty. He takes up the job of a nightwatchman at an old department store that burnt down a couple of years back. The store has mirrors all over, and he starts to realise that there's something quite sinister going on with the mirrors. From there he pieces together the story, and follows it to it's natural conclusion. The ending also came as bit of a surprise, but in a good way. Overall, it was a creepy but enjoyable experience. Score:

Max Payne

Broken — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:37:04 +0000

8 March 2009 – Sunday

[singlepic id=261 float=left]Max Payne isÂ another game-to-movie attempt. And once again, it’s leaves a lot to be desired. Almost everything gets lost in translation. They took some of the names and events from the game, and concocted a story around that. Within the framework of the movie, it works, but when put up against the game story, it totally falls flat. The kitch noir feel of the game isn’t there, the movie takes itself way to seriously, whereas the game you got the sense that though it pretended to be all serious, it really knew underneath it was anything but.The action scenes in the movie are ok, but compared to some of the bullet-ballet scenes from the games, it again feels like so much lost opportunities.

If they decided to not attach the name Max Payne to the movie, it might’ve faired a bit better, as you wouldn’t go in with certain expectations. As is, it’s really just luke-warm.

Score:

Watchmen

Broken — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:52:01 +0000

7 March 2009 - Saturday Watchmen is the cinematic entry to whatâ€™s arguably one of the most influential graphic novels of all time. Many directors and studios have tried at some point to bring Watchmen to the big screen, with little success. Finally Zack Snyder stepped up to the plate, and delivered what is probably the best cinematic version of Watchmen that we can possibly hope for. The story of the Watchmen is, distilled to itâ€™s core, a murder mystery. It starts with the murder of The Comedian, and the subsequent investigation by Rorschach into whoâ€™s killing masked superheroes. This is set against an alternative 1985 in which Nixon is president, and the ever looming threat of nuclear war is hanging above everyoneâ€™s heads. The superheroes in the movie are all ordinary people who don costumes and fight crime, with the exception of Dr. Manhattan, who due to a scientific experiment gone wrong, is the closest thing to the traditional superheroes that we know. One of the reasons why Watchmen was called unfilmable, was due to the intricate backstories of all the characters, during the twelve issues of the comic their whole histories were investigated and brought to light. Thankfully almost none of this is lost in translation. The only character that suffers is that of Ozymandias, all the others had their backstories sufficiently fleshed out. Overall, Iâ€™m extremely happy with the movie version, it never disappointed, even with all the changes that theyâ€™ve made to the comic book story. I definitely want to see this movie again, as thereâ€™s a lot that one misses, little touches that theyâ€™ve added to remain faithful to the source material. So far, one of the best movies of the year for me. I will admit that Iâ€™m having trouble giving it a final score, the more I think about the movie, the more my opinion changes ever so slightly. I definitely will review the score once the directorâ€™s cut gets released later this year. Score:

We watch them…

Broken — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:11:53 +0000

This weekend The Watchmen starts. I'm very excited about it. Ever since I first read the graphic novel, I've been waiting for a movie, while still remaining sceptical about it actually being any good. Enter Zack Snyder. He did a steller remake of Dawn of the Dead, and then he brought Frank Miller's 300 to the big screen in way that I didn't think was possible. It managed to keep the essence of the novel, and brought the comic panels to life without it seeming corny or over the top. When I read that he's been put at the helm of The Watchmen, my optimism grew considerably. I have faith in him in bringin this graphic novel to the big screen in a faithful manner. And this weekend I'll find out for myself just how well he managed that. Who watches the Watchmen?

V For Vendetta (Blu-ray)

Broken — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:55:06 +0000

1 March 2009 – Sunday
[singlepic id=241 float=left]V For Vendetta is based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore. It’s set in an alternative timeline, where England has become a facist state. The reasons for this become clear throughout the movie. We are introduced to V, who sparks a revolution via anarchy.

The story follows Evie, played by Natalie Portman. V saved her from a attempted rape and assualt, and a friendship starts between them. We witness her transformation into someone who embraces the views of V.

Having read the graphic novel before seeing the movie originally, one’s left with a little sadness that they couldn’t bring the full effect of the novel through. But these things aren’t really feasible without making a convoluted over-long movie which would’ve really not appealed to anybody but the hardcore fans. As such, I enjoyed the movie for what it was, and the message that the novel conveys came through well enough in the end with the movie.

Well worth a watch if you enjoy Orwellian type movies.

Score

Pineapple Express

Broken — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:05:26 +0000

22 February 2009 – Sunday

[singlepic id=237 float=left]Pineapple Express could be described as the stoner movie for the 2000s. It’s brought to us by the people involved with Superbad, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, etc. The main character is a process server as well as a pothead. He witnesses a murder, and from there it’s a wild chase from start to finish. He gets his dealer involved, and the attempt to find out what’s happening, while trying to spare his highschool girlfriend and parents from becoming embroiled in the process as well.

There’s a lot of stoner humour in the movie, and I can imagine that the movie would be much more hilarious then they are for those of us watching it in a sober state. The characters work though, and you start making a connection with them, and hope that things work out for them in the end, which it inevitably does, barring some disasters along the way.

It’s a silly comedy, and if you’re in the mood for that, it’s worth watching.

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