Hollywood
-
The Avengers is like an amped-up version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, that Jolie-Pitt starrer that worked wonderfully when it focused on its characters and got a little ho-hum when it focused on the gunfights. I say amped-up because, while a grudge match between two professional killers only trashes a suburban house, anything involving Thor
-
The entire principal cast of A Streetcar Named Desire received Academy Award nominations for acting in 1952. Three of them won. The one who didn’t? Marlon Brando. I’ve been following the Oscars regularly for nearly as long as I have been a serious movie buff. That’s a long time, and the quizzerly part of my brain
-
I tried to like this movie, I really did. But when a talented writer-director like Cameron Crowe sets his sights on mediocrity, he is good enough to be able to achieve it. Despite having a quirky plot (widower Benjamin Mee uproots his kids, moves to the countryside, buys a derelict zoo, gets it up and
-
Over the past few years, I have found myself gravitating towards the conclusion that any movie can be improved by the presence of Vadivelu in it. Examples (some of which I have mentioned in earlier blog posts and comments) include: Wanted (the English version involving curving bullets and a curvier Angelina Jolie): Given how often
-
I watched the movie a few weeks ago and just finished reading the Michael Lewis book it was based on, and as it happens, what works in the movie and what doesn’t are the same as with the book. Both stood out as interesting examples of a certain type of storytelling — dense, jargon-heavy dialogue
-
The second installment in Guy Ritchie’s Holmes reboot reminds me, most of all, of The Dark Knight — the reference to this movie’s villain at the end of the previous movie, the theme of escalation, a triangular relationship (in a manner of speaking), the loss of a loved one and above all, the assured hand
-
Enter the Dragon was one of the first martial arts movies I ever watched and it remains, to this day, my favourite in the genre. Its premise has been reused countless times since then; I am not aware of any, but it is entirely possible that there were movies before it that used the framework
-
Imagine you’re Ethan Hunt. You’re chilling out at a plush beach resort, knocking back a cold beer and eyeing the cheese. Your bikini-clad waitress brings you one of those drinks with an umbrella in it. You clearly didn’t order it but it does look interesting, and you aren’t inclined to say no to her. But
-
Over the past few months, I have watched three wonderful films that have made a deep impression on me. All three involve strong women who start from humble backgrounds and work their way up. The men along the way are sometimes supportive, sometimes not. But these stories are not really about women versus men —
24 frames per second 