Movie Reviews : Django Unchained, Les Miserables, The Impossible, Seven Psychopaths

seen any good movies lately? spent the last few weeks watching oscar-nominated movies – favorites like ‘argo’, ‘lincoln’ (both amazingly well-made but boring movies in my opinion) and ‘silver lining playbook’, as well as the incredibly passionate musical ‘les miserables’ and the black comedy ‘django unchained’. i also watched not-nominated-but-still-very-entertaining movie ‘seven psychopaths’.

 

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‘django unchained’ is a quentin tarantino movie, so what that means to me is extreme violence, gore and quirkiness in one great storyline. ‘django unchained’ delivered exactly that. and as much as i want to shun this movie for its so-called ‘violence’, i cannot take my eyes away, and got me watching till the end.

set during the time of slavery, a bounty hunter (kills bad guys for money) rescued a slave so that he can help identify the next target, in return for his freedom. at the same time, the slave was also looking for his missing wife, taken forcefully from him. together, they make an unlikely team of bounty hunters going from plantation to plantation in search of targets to kill.

the plot is very interesting, and the casts are even more so that i can’t easily choose a favorite :

christoph waltz won me over when he played the cool-mannered jews-killing-german soldier in ‘inglorious basterds’ and he somewhat reprised that cool mannerism in his role as the bounty hunter in this movie. it’s a joy watching him play the character, having that great chemistry with jamie foxx who is just awesome as the slave.

leonardo di caprio plays the bad guy; one of the rich dudes with lots of slaves and he plays that part with such intensity that i hated him so much! mission accomplished, huh? his expressions, his tone of voice, and his mannerism – an award-winning worth of performance!

i highly recommend this movie, especially fans of quentin tarantino movies. if you don’t like violence, blood and gore, turn away whenever christoph waltz even look like he’s reaching in his coat for something. haha. but the fantastic story will be worth it.

 

 

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i love musicals. ‘sound of music’, ‘grease’ and ‘hairspray’ are my top favorites. but ‘les miserables’ is really truly for the musicals-hardcore because it’s like 99% singing and a few spoken lines here and there. you know, the kind of movie yang bila nak tanya pukul berapa pun kena nyanyi haha.

ok jokes aside, this is a musical of epic proportions. the story is as old as time as we all know. a prisoner escaped parole to start a new life but the police officer is always on his track. meanwhile a single-mom suffered poor fate as she’s forced into prostitution to raise her only daughter. their paths crossed; in the midst of a national revolution.

the songs are descriptive of each scene and capture each moments and feelings wonderfully. the casts are just amazing that they can sing LIVE on set without recording first at a studio. they sang as the camera rolls. amazing.

hugh jackman what can i say? oh what a lovely voice in that greek-god body! from the undernourished, sunken-faced prisoner to a strapping gentleman – hugh jackman transforms himself for the roles with conviction! anne hathaway deserves the golden globe and the many awards she’s going to get. powerful performance from the rest!

highly recommended for fans of musicals!

 

 

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i have 3 boys, just like the family in this ‘the impossible’, and because of that, i cried bucket of tears; constantly imagine being in their place amidst the chaos, wreckage, the loss of lives, the uncertainty – i wonder if i would have had half of their courage, strong spirit and determination. what an intense movie!

based on a true story, a family vacation turned tragedy as tsunami struck thailand while they were on holiday there. the mother and her eldest were separated from the father and the two younger boys, not knowing if either survived. their journey to keep going will keep you teary-eyed the whole way through.

the cinematography and cgi were well-put together as we experience being swept away by the extremely strong current brought by the tsunami. the sound was even muffled and for a moment we couldn’t hear a thing as the characters went underwater with all the broken debris hitting them left and right. we were there with them.

the actor playing the eldest boy was nominated for a golden globe, and watching him in ‘the impossible’, i can understand why. his forceful performance as the young man who needs to be stronger than his mum after the tragedy has overwhelmed me with emotions, i always find tears streaming as i imagine my boys in their situation.

highly recommended, even if you didn’t like disaster movie. i don’t, but this one is difficult to turn away from. when all seemed impossible, hope will set you free.

 

 

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i love this movie. hilarious, quirky and a little bit crazy. just the way i like it!

‘seven psychopaths’ is about a writer who is writing a movie script of well – 7 psychopaths and he’s collecting stories to give him some ideas, with the help of his best friend. and by help, it might mean dragging him into a tangled of trouble – because the best friend kidnaps dogs for the reward money, and he unknowingly kidnapped the mafia leader’s cute dog. bad guy wants his dog back, and the writer finds himself surrounding by – psychos!

the casts are wonderfully weird – from the otai christopher walken to the awesomely quirky sam rockwell and even the usually-in-serious-action-flick colin farell is funny in this one as the nervous, innocent guy suddenly thrown in this mess.

the movie is weird and funny, you’ve GOT to see it.