chakrabortyabhishek07 Reviews

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

BLASPHEMY is an understatement

[2/10 · 10 October 2012]

I am not an American so I am not at liberty to speak about life of Ab Lincoln before he became president. But SERIOUSLY!!! Vampire Hunter?

It is understandable the studio and the producers are at pressure to put good summer action blockbusters but ridiculing probably the greatest name in American history after George Washington is absolute blasphemy.

Now let us focus on cinematic angle: Script - Poor & Absolutely Weak; Cinematography - Above average; Light - Below average, specially night scenes were too jolly; Camera - Beautiful work, only plus point of this film; Acting - Effort was there but outcome was pathetic; Action - Sequences were nicely shot; Direction - Really weak;

REACTION AFTER WATCHING - "WHAT THE F***" Rating - 2

Word of Advice to the filmmakers: A motion picture despite everything depends solely on a good story and a sound and tight script, please concentrate on that and success will follow.

Shadowboxer (2005)

Somewhere between OK and good

[6/10 · 12 September 2012]

The year is 2012 and I have just completed watching this movie. To be honest I think this is one of the few movies where I saw some intense stuff from Cuba Gooding Jr. however I feel the antagonist could have been a little more satirical and Joseph Gordon was simply wasted in this film. Mirren did OK and the lady love Vanessa Ferlito was expressionless however the plot was interesting.

When the question comes to execution this movie is somewhat derailed despite the futile effort of the director, I guess it shows the weakness in the script. What if is the biggest question in this movie's execution. What if the scene was executed in this manner, what if the actor executed the dialogue in this manner and stuff like that. I guess we will know now.

One of the biggest disappoint was Mo'nique's role and yet it is one of the better executed role. I guess in Hollywood African American women aren't provided much chance to express their talent again it is a loss to the cinema.

On a scale of ten I rate this one 6

Gandu (2010)

An Ode to Andy Warhol !!!!

[7/10 · 4 November 2011]

I am not quite aware whether the director was inspired by Andy Warhol's "Chelsea Girls" or not but the film certainly highlights that exact frame mannerism of presenting the story for cinematic viewing like the one presented by Warhol in "Chelsea Girls".

The film consists of some erotic scenes which are explicit in nature but most certainly not pornographic in any way whatsoever.

The script was innovative for Indian audience though I am pretty sure that majority viewers have not got the basic notion of the script. The cinematography was brilliant must congratulate Kaushik aka Q for that. Lyrics were certainly explosive in nature but truth cannot be denied from it.

Acting is good especially by Anubrata(Gandu) and Joyraj(Rickshaw), Rii is hot but she did not got enough leverage to showcase her acting abilities. Komolika(Mother) was good in her role and Shilajit(Das babu)....well he was just the jolly good fellow.

I have only one complain that the sound was not recorded properly and at times background score became too noisy to hear the dialouges with proper effect.

Must say a good step forward for Indian cinema and kudos to Overdose Joint for thinking out of the box.

Bodyguard (I) (2011)

Sabka Ek Bhaijaan.........Aa Gya Hain Dekho Bodyguard !

[8/10 · 2 September 2011]

Nowadays it sounds like a cliché if we in India say that Salman Khan rocks, but truth in the matter is he does rock. The story isn't that moving but there is an unexpected twist in the climax.

The story is simple Lovely Singh (Salman) is a body guard for Sartaj Rana's (Raj Babbar) daughter Divya (Kareena). Divya hates Lovely and tries to get rid of him by playing the mystique lover Chhaya through phone with help of her friend Maya (Rose Dawn aka Hazel Keech) what happens next is the plot while Lovely saves Divya from goons.

The music is awesome, actions are a bit superficial, cinematography is the watch out factor, acting is good from everyone but the real deal Salman Khan will rock the box office with his mannerisms.

Great family entertainer and you are gonna have a blast watching this so I have rated it 8/10

Arya 2 (2009)

Ode to Allu Arjun

[22 August 2011]

See I am a guy fro Calcutta and I really do not understand the language Telegu but I must comment on one thing this actor Allu Arjun can do wonders. I am going to comment on the following:

Story: Good story, plot is nicely placed with a bit of feudal touch of urban India and enough space for every character to blossom.

Screenplay & Cinematography: Well must admit one of the best India has produced in recent time.

Music: In reality I do not know the name of the music composer but must admit he or she did an excellent job specially with "My Love is Gone", "Mr. Perfect" and above all "RINGA RINGA" wow what a song such peppy track with such eloquence.

Acting: Allu Arjun (Arya) - These guy really knows acting and with the talent he got he sure as hell can do grater character roles. He is superb in this movie. Absolutely no flaws. Kajal (Geetha) - Damsel in absolute hallucination........good actress needs more fine tuning but did a great job. Navdeep (Ajay) - The Only flaw in this movie is this guy's expressionless screen presence......pathetic to the core Mukesh Rishi & Sayaji Satam - Simply Excellent Others were also great specially the guy who almost got married to geetha in rayalseema and shradha das.

All in all a good plot some great acting and one of the best musical showcase..........Do watch this film

Iti Mrinalini: An Unfinished Letter... (2010)

Aparna Sen's most mature directorial venture till date

[7/10 · 30 July 2011]

This is yet another class act from the directorial notebook of Aparna Sen. The story is not something which is not told before but the presentation mattered a lot for which this movie scores a lot. Kudos to Ms. Sen for bringing out the life which is less ordinary yet wonderful is this motion picture.

The story is a journey and the journey which replicates the life of a superstar of cine world. Mrinalini's life and her meteoric rise to fame and glamour and the men that came in her life. Somewhere down the line it was quite evident that apart from portraying the journey Aparna Sen also wanted to highlight the insecurity of a superstar and her craving for material love which somehow remained unfulfilled. The dialogues were simply unbeatable specially when Koushik says to Konkona "You only think about one kind of love".

The direction and cinematography is excellent and the music by Debojyoti Mishra is very soothing. Acting from different actors were superb but the show stealer for me was Koushik Sen (Chintan Nair). Konkona Sen Sharma (Young Mrinalini) is one of the finest actors of this generation and I found her acting skills were much better than her mother Aparna Sen (Old Mrinalini). Rajat Kapoor (Siddhartha Sarkar) got the most screen presence than any other male actor and his acting prowess shows why he deserved it. Saheb Bhattachrjee (Abhijeet) and Priyanshu Chatterjee (Imtiaz Chowdhury) got limited screen time but their roles were pivotal in order to shape the story, though I feel Saheb cold have done a much better work. Aparna Sen was simply unquestionable but it was Koushik Sen whose subtle performance caught everyone flatfooted. Must mention here that Tritee Basu (Sohini) is one fine contribution to the child artist brigade.

There were very few mistakes and it should not bother the viewers much but the four most notable were:- (i)When Saheb lights his cigarette he used ITC's Aim matchstick which was not available in the Naxalite era, (ii)When old college street was shown a book stall owner was wearing a specs which is of post millennium design, (iii)When Saheb and Konkona were travelling in the tram on the background some hero honda glamour bikes were visible which again were not in Naxalite era (iv)When Konkana was singing in the bar the glass patterns where not available in that era and somewhere also in the retro age some wrought iron furniture were visible.

All in all you need a mature mind to view this movie and to appreciate's its gravity. It is a 7 out of 10 for me.

Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971)

It never was about ISKON

[8/10 · 23 April 2011]

You see the way people in the early seventies blamed ISKON for their radical nature which eventually was the supposed conclusion of being turned into hippies is not at all true and that is why this film is so damn important.

I am surprised that Dev Anand actually thought that a guy in mid forties would look like a guy in mid twenties. Zeenat Aman was stupendous. Mumtaz was good but the real highlighter of this film is the music of the legendary Rahul Dev Burman.........I mean WOW!! Funny thing I read about other reviews is that no one mentioned the song "phoolon ka taaron ka sabka kehna hain" I understand "Dumm Maaro Dumm" was phenomenal, why was it still is even today but the other songs were very good too.

Acting was above average, certain aspects are too melodramatic but then again keeping in mind the 1970s of India it was good, great job by cinematographer and rest of the support staffs.

I give my ratings out of 10:

Acting - 6 Story - 8.5 Screenplay - 8.5 Direction - 8 Music Dept. - 10 (since 100 out of 10 was not possible) Other Aspects - 6

Overall - 7.83 out of 10 so I round it of to 8 out of 10

Amor Sangi (1986)

Entertainment worth watching in cable TV only...........unless u r running high on money

[5/10 · 11 April 2011]

The golden age of Bengali cinema has already ended by the time this movie released. However it created a spur and excitement among youth of Bengal like no other did in that era.

This is an outright romantic story with typical rich guy poor girl plot. This movie actually made Prosenjit Chatterjee a household name and later on he went on to became the only superstar of Bengali cinema for the next two decades.

Artistic Angle: Cinematography and camera work is about average, dialogue is below par, I do not blame the screenplay as the script itself was very weak. Acting was above average apart from Soumitra Bannerjee whom I found very cunning and convincing as a villain and Robi Ghosh who is as entertaining as always till the last day of this death.

Entertainmnt Angle: The music is the only thing that stands out. Hats of to Bappi Lahiri for scoring such good music. Scenic beauty of North Bengal was captured perfectly. Direction is OK standard but nothing to be proud of. Good action comparing to the resources available those days.

Verdict: Willing to spend 3 hours in 80s Bengali entertainment flick then rent it other wise watch in cable TV. Good time mindless entertainment though. So all in all I give it a 5 out of 10

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

Damn you! Damn you fascists!

[9/10 · 11 March 2011]

Wow! This movie brings sanity in insanity by the way it has been portrayed. This movie is so compelling, so spine chilling that it sends other thrillers and horror flicks into trash can. There is a strange irony of fate in this movie even the slimmest glimmer of hope would arrive against someone else's destruction.

Now do not confuse me with a sadist person who enjoys pain but I guess Pasolini's each and every movie deserves a second watch as then only one will be able to understand the art hidden in pain of notoriety. If you are a first time watcher of serious movie then do not watch this one, first refine yourself with few other typical Hollywood serious ones for about a year or two, then take the understanding out of those flicks and gather all your preconceived notions about Pasolini and then watch this one. As you watch this one you going realize that what ever you have gathered is pure crap and this one takes you on a ride like no one ever did to you.

A pure 9 out of 10 for me! I am still startled. I have just deducted 1 point because Teorema (1968) is the best work of his.

The Crow (1994)

I guess Brandon Lee saved the Best for the Last

[9/10 · 8 March 2011]

Until recently I did not had the privilege to watch this cult classic but I must confess I was not hoping much out of it as the main star cast included a one certain Brandon Lee. But as the movie went on I realized that Brandon was truly one fine actor who before this one was not given adequate script to work on.

This is a kind of movie one should gift another or even keep in his own personal collection. The cinematography was excellent and action was brilliant as did not posses that high flying gravity defying martial arts instead it was more natural.

The acting is brilliant, Brandon Lee was simply superb shame that he died during filming this motion picture, I guess god is not fair in certain aspects. Rochelle Davis as a teenager was awesome, pity that she didn't featured in any other movie after this. Ernie Hudson & Michael Wincott were very good in their respectable roles, Bai Ling was perhaps the only one who was wrongly cast.

The story is great and the overall package was not only entertaining but also enterprising. I would give it an eight out of ten but simply because of Brendon it gets nine out of ten. Do watch this movie as it will surely deliver to your expectations.

Savior (1998)

A Tale to Tell

[8/10 · 23 February 2011]

This movie is simply put astounding as far as anti war emotions goes. Quaid's character actually puts you in awestruck......WOW!

This is one of those films which you should see alone only in order to capture the very essence of humanity with a broader spectrum of emotion. The end narrates beautifully the everlasting battle of life & death.

I was fourteen when I first saw this movie and even after 11 long years it kept me captivated in the very essence of human joyousness. I wonder why Dennis Quaid is up with the G.I.Joe thing, instead a actor of his quality should excel in doing roles which explores humanity even in the darkest quarter of life.

This cinema is one fine example of story telling. A 8 out of 10 for me.

Southland Tales (2006)

Somewhere down the line it's lost.......sadly though!

[6/10 · 19 December 2010]

Followings are the things one should expect out of this movie:- • Fine Acting • High-quality Cinematography • Good Action • Marvelous Screen Presence by Timberlake, Johnson, Gellar and Scott • Good Story

Followings are the things one should not expect out of this movie:- • Unyielding Script • Good Direction • Good Dialogue

The story seems to be tad too ambitious as per the budget and the casting at some places went unbearably wrong. Justin Timberlake and Sean William Scott saved the blushes for the producers.

Dwayne Johnson needs to study acting and Sarah Michelle Gellar is as sexy as she was in Buffy.

The script went unpleasantly brutal to intense cinematic audience as I may say. A lot of embellishment had been noticed which was idiosyncratically unwelcoming.

But for the earnest endeavor on the crew's part I would rate it 6. The preference of watching it utterly lays on you my friend but one thing can be assured, it wouldn't be a categorical depletion of time

The Expendables (2010)

Action Doesn't Get Bigger Than This !!!!!!!!!!

[4/10 · 13 September 2010]

Well Stallone does it what no director can achieve (to the best of my knowledge) - Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger in one movie. WOW!!!

Read the star cast man, it has Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger, Li, Statham, Lungdren, Stone Cold, Crews, Coture and Rourke............what more one action lover can want. I admit the script is weak and the direction was average but keep those things aside it's one hell of a ride.

Thank goodness the world did not collapsed. The CGI effect was good and about the film I felt Rourke and Lungdren did not have sufficient role to play.

But the film could just ride on the muscle power alone..........Simply there was no story, I mean a guy like stallone is fantastic media planner and actor but not a great director. A little bit importance to the story would have saved his face

Must Watch even if just for once.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Childhood is the sanity that prevailed simplicity of innocence in truth of humanity

[9/10 · 12 August 2010]

One of the most touching movies about Nazi ruled Germany. Both kids Asa Butterfield (Bruno) and Jack Scanlon (Shmuel) were amazing in this flick. Vera Farmiga was equally good no wonder she is such a fine actress.

But I must congratulate the script writer and the director for bringing such a timeless tale of innocence in shadows of brutality. Truly children are the truest form of humans not corrupted and divided by lies, religion, caste, creed, race but unified and pure by friendship, love and simplicity.

Kudos to everyone associated with this project, it is truly inspiring. I wish filmmakers work into more scripts like this. A must watch for everyone above the age of 14 (I guess a little maturity is required to understand the simplicity}. Wow I miss my childhood. My rating is 9.

P.S. - See the movie in order to understand the basic need of childhood......"innocence".

The Hero (1966)

Consortium of Greatness in 2 hours

[9/10 · 8 July 2010]

I was around 14 years old when I first saw this masterpiece of Satayajit Ray. One very common thing between Ray and Kurosawa I noticed was introspection of perception.

A train journey allows a superstar to introspect his life and career which leaves him in shattered pieces. Uttam Kumar as Arindam was simply unbelievable and so was Shartmila Tagore as the reporter who was acting as a mirror (much needed) for Arindam to reflect.

This movie will give everyone a glimpse of the price paid to succeed. Success here is the Devil and greed here is the devil's advocate.... the price..........."SOUL"

A must watch if you are a movie lover....My Vote - 9/10

Black Book (2006)

A very good film but somehow missing the Greatness

[7/10 · 19 June 2010]

There are lots of things in these film which are depicted with far more authority and creativity in few great WW II films. The story in the backdrop of World War II.

It's about a Jewish woman's journey during the war years. Very compact and very touchy performances by all the actors I must say. The script very well poised and the film was shot in a good manner.

One of the best that I have seen from the dutch. However I felt the film lacked the greatness factor. The director could have been much more careful and much more realistic while setting up the camera angels. At certain important scenes the facial expressions of the actors were not caught in the manner it should have. Also the knot between certain sequence could have been a bit tighter.

But I must recommend this movie to every one. A must watch as it gives a whole new plateau for the certain Nazis.

I'm sorry but can't really give a 8 or 9 for this movie.