Krrish (2006) – Her Review October 8, 2006
Posted by Eury in Action, Adventure, Comedy, Movies, Musical, Romance.2 comments
Dir. Rakesh Roshan
Starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rekha etc.
Krishna (Roshan) is a young boy that has inherited super powers from his dad. Hoping to keep him by her side and away from any evil influences or dangers, his grandmother is extremely over-protective and by the age of 20, he still plays with very young children, has animals as his friends and is extremely naive…. until one day, a group of kids from a young adult’s camp practically come crashing down on the little Indian village.
His grandmother looks like she’s about his age, but with a bit of makeup in the creases of her mouth and some grey added to her hair. I want to look like that when my grandson is supposedly 20…. and yeah, he’s supposed to be 20, looks like he’s thirty which makes sense, since IMDB’s stats say he’s 32.
Krishna falls for a young girl, Priya (Chopra) that he saves from a crippling accident while dropping from a paraglider. Since this is a Bollywood type of movie, of course we get to see them dance, often… at times knee deep in snow! What? Yep.. don’t ask… it’s weird, it’s funny and that’s all that matters , I guess.
Without going into the details of exactly why, but believing that Priya loves him and hoping to marry her, Krishna goes to see her in Singapore where trouble starts falling into his lap. Having promised his grandmother not to let anyone know he has super powers is a difficult promise to keep when tragedy strikes and he is the only person who can help. A mask and a black leather coat later, we witness the birth of Krrish… (yes, we are saved from having to see yet another superhero become a wizard at sewing their own costume 😉 )
Of course, dancing moments mixed with romance are sprinkled throughout this movie. There is plenty of lipsynching going on… the lips really don’t match, the girl singer has a really, really high-pitched voice and yes, amazingly… everyone always knows the moves.
I have to admit there are some really cool action scenes in this movie.. With leaps and bounds he takes out his opponents… all the while fans are blowing wind on Krrish.. which makes his black leather coat and long hair waver; he looks every bit the part of super hero.
There are also some really huge holes in the plot and stuff that just doesn’t make sense. It’s as if two people wrote the story and didn’t have time to get together to compare notes. Still, as I said earlier, I laughed and often… sometimes because the movie was funny, like whenever this one guy says : “Just imagine”… there is a voice over that yells out “brrrooulllalaloooyylllall…” and then sometimes because the movie had such ludicrous moments that didn’t just make sense… I was like…what?… then almost spit out my coffee… (or was I having a beer?) but who cares… most important is it was crazy enjoyable.
This is Her review, you can read His review here
Keywords: Indian, Bollywood, Kung-Fu, Superheroes
Krrish (2006) – His Review October 8, 2006
Posted by Jinx in Action, Adventure, Comedy, Movies, Musical, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Rakesh Roshan
Starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rekha etc.
An indian superhero. He runs fast, he jumps high, he fights like a whirlwind, and of course he sings and dances the pants off N’Sync.
Krrish tells the story of Krishna (Roshan), who grows up in a small Indian village feeling out of touch with everyone because of his special abilities. He can’t play with the other kids because he’s too strong, so he has to cope on his own, frolicking through the forest. As an adult he’s not that bright, and gets tricked into going to Singapore, hoping to find love. He promises his grandmother to keep his powers hidden, which proves to be tricky.
Everything including the kitchen sink has been put into this movie. I’m not overly familiar with Indian cinema, but I am fond of the style – mixing old and new into any genre. There’s of course plenty of butt-jiggling and shoulder-twitching to music – hard to pull off in a Spielberg or Bay production, but effortlessly interwoven with the rest of the movie here. The other ingredients don’t blend as easily though. There’s action and fighting (excellently shot and edited), which is pretty graphic if not necessarily bloody, which comes into stark contrast with the very kids-friendly plot and dialogue. It’s a pretty extreme gap between the two, which seems an odd way of trying to reach a wider audience.
There’s also some awkward casting choices and subplots that make some sequences feel long, and others totally unnecessary. The grandmother is played by an actress in “old-people make-up” – glasses and greyhaired wig, which robs most of her scenes of any real connection. The sudden change from happy and frolicking Krishna to the dark-caped vigilante Krrish isn’t made to work. There’s plenty of non-intentionally funny scenes, where dialogue doesn’t quite reach Cap’n Kirk level, and just end up embarrassing.
Oh, and it’s 2.48 hours loooooong.
All in all, I can’t say I’m disappointed though. It’s a fun movie, with some good action sequences, good humoured characters who you end up liking, and an OK ending. I was also quite impressed with the production value of it, it certainly looks spiffy. If you like a bit of kung-fu mixed in with your singin’ and dancin’, then check this one out. A footnote: This movie is a sequel to Koi… Mil Gaya, but completely watchable on it’s own. It’s in hindi, with some english interspersed, so you’ll probably be watching subtitles (Gah! Reading! Scary!).
This is His review, you can read Her review here.
Keywords: Indian, Bollywood, Kung-Fu, Superheroes
House of Flying Daggers (2004) – His Review September 19, 2006
Posted by Jinx in Action, Drama, Movies, Romance.2 comments
Dir. Yimou Zhang
Starring Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau
Click for larger poster >>
OK, it’s time for pretty again. And gritty perhaps?
Yes, what us blissfully ignorant westerners will always refer to as Yimou Zhang’s second movie gets a little closer to “realism” than it’s predecessor. The stunts are still wild but plausible, the story is much more down to earth, and the actors actually act full out.
It proudly puts a lot of effort on cinematography and a few key action moments, but the story arc is fulfilling in and of itself which to me makes for a more complete experience. Where Hero had one foot in epic chinese traditions, both in storyline and in storytelling, Flying Daggers focuses on a simple story:
China, the Tang Dynasty era. A would-be political assassin is captured. A young officer of the law frees her, and pretends to woo her while trying to find her guild, the House of Flying Daggers’ secret headquarters. The rest of the story merely nudges you to switch whom you root for, as there are no real heros and villains, just people. Romantic, voyeuristic, judgmental, kind, unpredictable, flip-kicking people.
It’s nothing you will miss not seeing, but definitely something you will be glad you did.
This is His review, you can read Her review here.
House of Flying Daggers (2004) – Her Review September 18, 2006
Posted by Eury in Action, Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Yimou Zhang
Starring Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau
In a previous review I wrote about how, now that I had seen Hero, that it was difficult for me not to compare any movies of the same genre with it. Well, this movie is not only of the same genre, it is by the same director: Yimou Zhang.
The story rotates around Mei, a blind girl… although in disguise in the palace as a dancer, she is actually a martial arts expert believed to be the daughter of the recently assassinated leader of the Robin Hood type of gang called the House of Flying Daggers.
Without giving out any spoilers, there is an exquisite dance near the beginning of the film called the Echo Game. It is simply breathtaking. Mei performs a dance with acrobatics worthy of the Cirque du Soleil. Combined with the ryhthm of drums and the dust flying off of them and the flow of her sleeves.. (you’ll understand once you see this, I assure you) the scene is a memorable one.
Not quite as spectacularly shot as Hero, this is still very much eye-candy for anyone who enjoys a visual festival of color and costume. Although the story supposedly is set within a few days, we do see a movement through the seasons, albeit sort of backwards. When they leave the palace, the trees are all in their autumn glory, red, gold and rust. We then enter a sea of very fine bright green.. just as in spring.. and are even witness to a wintery snowstorm.
There are some astounding action sequences in this movie. Again, I will compare it to Hero.. by saying it is not as fantastical.. or magical, but more real and frightening. There were moments where I literally held my hands over my eyes (as if that would really help, huh? ) because it was so intense. Although this movie has incredible action sequences (notably one amazing one in a bamboo forest), the story is a very simple one mainly of a woman and a man and an ex-lover doing what lovers have done through the ages.
Perhaps not a very complex storyline, but such a sight for sore eyes, shouldn’t be missed.
This is Her review, you can read His review here
Imagine Me & You (2005) – His Review September 9, 2006
Posted by Jinx in Comedy, Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Ol Parker
Starring Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, Darren Boyde etc.
If you love the archetypical british comedies that Working Title have brought you, you shouldn’t be sitting there reading this. You should go to the video store and buy this movie. Then you should take it outside, throw it on the sidewalk, pour gasoline on it and light it on fire. You’d be doing the world, and the reputation of british cinema a big favor.
How something can use “all the right things” and go so wrong is beyond me. I mean it has two hot lesbians in it, how bad can it be? The answer is “pretty damn bad”.
Imagine Me & You uses the nice super-real cinematography we’ve seen before, the same loveable minor characters (Anthony Head as the permanently tortured and subdued dad is the only good thing in it), and the cheesy ending that’s meant to pull you in. Why doesn’t it work? I’m pretty sure it’s because Working Title isn’t behind this, but instead it’s a litter of copycats. It’s no Love Actually in any way, mostly because the clichés are so blatant and annoying, and – in spite of it’s lesbian twist – not twisted in the least.
So yeah, It’s poo and I stepped in it, but I’m giving you a heads up. If you decide to see it anyway, at least don’t wipe it off on your friends.
This is His review, you can read Her review here.
Imagine Me & You (2005) – Her Review September 9, 2006
Posted by Eury in Comedy, Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Ol Parker
Starring Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode and Anthony Head
On her wedding day, Rachel (Piper Perabo), betrothed to Heck (Matthew Goode), and actually walking down the aisle to marry him, momentarily exchanges glances with Luce (Lena Headey) the wedding florist. They immediately feel a connection. Heck’s best man, Ned (Darren Boyd) also feels a certain something for this smart woman, so different from the women he’s used to.
A short while after the wedding, Rachel visits Luce at her florist shop and invites her to a dinner party at their house. She tells her husband that it’s the perfect ruse to bring Ned and Luce together, but we already sense that she is intrigued by Luce and would like to get to know her better herself. We soon find out that Luce is a lesbian and although Ned believes that anyone can switch teams (well, except for himself, of course) we already know it’s not going to happen.
Luce is attracted to Rachel, Rachel is attracted to Luce and both try to hold off because neither want to hurt Heck, who is a really nice guy.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Everyone in this movie is likeable enough and although it’s a cute romance story with a different twist and although I have nothing against same sex couples getting together, I had a hard time with the idea that we just drop someone like a hot potato the moment our eye catches someone else’s. Maybe it’s because I’ve had this happen to me… getting left makes you feel like you are trash. It hit home. The movie tries to candy it up by having her tell him how she feels … how she is going to be a martyr and stay with him although she’s in love with someone else. I don’t care if she is in love with a woman or a man, or if this other person is nice or not. She spends 2 afternoons with this woman and dumps her husband… who, believe me, is handsome and kind and very loving towards her. Yes, I guess you can say, well… he shouldn’t stay with someone who doesn’t love him, and you’d be right… but he doesn’t even get a chance, does he now? … and he’s too much of a nice guy to step in her way.
The ending shows us everyone getting on with their wonderful lives and that’s supposed to make us feel that everything just gets fixed easily… it’s all fine and dandy. Of course, it also makes you forget the pain that would have really existed. I’m very much on the line about this movie… because the acting was exceptionally good; there were many funny moments, many heartfelt moments… and some with people feeling guilty and awkward and I felt that from them, but it also angered me cause of personal experience and it made me realize how scarred and scared I am that this could happen to me again.
This is Her review, you can read His review here .
The Lake House (2006) – His Review August 30, 2006
Posted by Jinx in Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Alejandro Agresti
Starring Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Christopher Plummer
Not exactly Ghost, not quite Bridges of Madison County, but somewhere in between.
Or so the PR people for this movie would have you believe. From the media image it looks like a dreary tale of a war veteran who finds love as he is fighting cancer, only to wake up realizing it was a dream he had in the hospital – after which he dies in cancer.
Luckily The Lake House is a whole lot more interesting – and funny – than that. It’s got some weird time-travel going on, which is a lot better than cancer. Alex & Kate (Reeves & Bullock) live in a house by the lake, but not at the same time. With the help of a seemingly magic mailbox they become penpals, friends and more. It’s not a wacky race for laughs but the story creates funny moments all the time, which is what I hoped for when I learned of the premise.
The acting is subdued, but there is some great work done here. Bullock shows her character’s change over the years very naturally, and Reeves.. well he does fine. He looks like he just woke up, both literally and metaphorically, but it works. Ebon Moss-Bachrach is great as Alex’s younger brother, tormented by some inner demons that we’re never really introduced to, they just show in his mannerisms.
I haven’t seen the Korean original, can’t say I’m all that interested to compare them, but I may watch it later. As for this one though, it’s a definite must-see if you like the tinglies associated with feel-good movies. It’s a chick flick in the same way that Reservoir Dogs is a guy flick – it’s just a good movie in it’s genre.
This is His review, you can read Her review here
Keywords: Paranormal, Remake, Chicago, Architecture
The Lake House (2006) – Her Review August 30, 2006
Posted by Eury in Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Alejandro Agresti
Starring Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Christopher Plummer
Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock) moving on with her life and moving to the big city, leaves a note in the mailbox of her house on the lake for the next tenant so they can forward her mail. Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) writes her back and says she must be mistaken since the lake house he just has moved into hasn’t been inhabited for years. They soon come to realize that the confusion is simply because she’s living in 2006 and he’s living in 2004. They exchange notes via the magical mailbox. I loved this part of the movie, it was fun and exciting and I was spellbound.
They continue to write notes to each other and soon fall in love. Is there a way for them to be together? Can they somehow arrange to meet in his future.. and her tomorrow? Two years is a long time, but can they do it? Is it possible? We follow their journey and wish wholeheartedly that they get together, as destiny seems to want them to be… otherwise why would this wonderfully impossible relationship be happening?
Some people may look at this movie and be too analytical and try to figure out the science of time travel etc., and I think this is exactly what you shouldn’t do. You must really just suspend your disbelief and let yourself be absorbed into these extraordinary events. Many couples have hindrances in their relationships… so if these two can get together through the distance of time, other obstacles such as geography suddenly seem small and leave us all with hope.
I’ve often looked at Sandra Bullock as the girl next door, very likeable but usually have not been able to feel her having much chemistry with her leading men in other movies. She’s usually strong, comical and much louder. In ‘the Lake House‘ she is very soft and I could feel her having chemistry with the (perhaps a little wooden) Reeves. Yes, he is a bit stoic but there are guys like that and that doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling anything beneath the skin, so I liked him also.
I genuinely liked this movie quite a bit. I laughed, I smiled and yeah, maybe I cried a little too… throw away your logical side and let yourself flow with the magic that exists in this universe.
This is Her review, you can read His review here
Keywords: Paranormal, Remake, Chicago, Architecture
If Only (2004) – Her Review August 21, 2006
Posted by Eury in Drama, Movies, Romance.2 comments
Dir. Gil Junger
Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls, Tom Wilkinson etc.,
If Only starts off with Samantha and Ian (Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls) teasing and romping around in their London flat. The colors were bright, the mood was light, I thought I was off to a sweet, romantic, feel-good comedy. Very soon though, we see that not everything is alright within this cute couple’s relationship. Sam is so head-over-heels in love with Ian, that she does everything in her power to make him happy even forgetting about what’s important to her. Ian, on the other hand, professes his adoration for her, but has little time for who she really is, what she cares for, or what is truly important to her. It’s pretty much all about him. Let’s be honest here, he’s a bit of a jerk. After a quarrel, Ian comes to realize what he actually had and gets a chance to relive that day over and perhaps change fate.
Although the premise of this story is somewhat the same as Groundhog Day, it is not at all in the same genre… it is much slower, pessimistic and extremely emotional to the point, actually, that I would be not understating to say that it was heart-wrenching.
I thought Jennifer Love Hewitt was really good in this movie and I found it easy to identify with her simply because I’ve been and often still am that girl. I thought she was amazing in this film and was surprised to learn that it’s actually her that is singing in this movie (no, it’s not a musical 😉 ) and that she’s got a very pleasant voice.
I’m not sure if I should thank the director, Gil Junger , or throttle him for the experience because it had me bawling my eyes out. Did I like this movie? Yes.. I just was perhaps unprepared for it to pull so wickedly at my heartstrings as it left me emotionally-drained.
This is Her review, you can read His review here
Keywords: Multiple Outcomes, Paranormal, Tearjerker
If Only (2004) – His Review August 21, 2006
Posted by Jinx in Drama, Movies, Romance.1 comment so far
Dir. Gil junger
Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls etc.
If Only is an emotional drama-based spin on the “another chance” scenario of Groundhog Day, slightly similar to Sliding Doors if you know that one. It tells the tale of London-dwelling couple Samantha and Ian, and their angst and trials that come to a head with Samantha’s sudden demise. The clock turns back, and Ian awakes the day before – remembering everything.
It’s not a very cheerful story, let me make that perfectly clear. It’s also quite predictable and slow with only a few moments where it picks up in pace. There is a feeling of impending doom, captured quite well, running through the movie. It’s not so much in the storyline as in the faces of the actors, to their credit. The use of sound and lack of sound is also excellent in the dramatic scenes, adding much to the results.
I really see no point in watching this alone unless you’re a glutton for punishment (or maybe a woman), it’s a well put together effort to grind water out of stones.
This is Hisreview, you can read Her review here
Keywords: Multiple Outcomes, Paranormal, Tearjerker
4eyes - His and Her movie reviews 