Under the Skin (2013) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

Under the Skin directed by Jonathan Glazer starring Scarlet Johansson

Aye! Guess who’s back writing reviews? It’s been ages since I wrote a movie review. I’m going to try to be more active on the blog again, would like to do more interviews, but that’s all for later. On to the review.

So, Under the Skin directed by Johnathan Glazer starring Scarlet Johansson in the lead was inspired by Michel Faber’s 2000 Whitbread Award-winning book of the same name: However, the book and the movie have no connection to each other whatsoever. So, you can enjoy the movie or the book without worrying about spoiling anything for yourself.

Under the Skin is a science fiction film about an extraterrestrial creature played by Johansson, preying on men in Scotland.

The movie looks great; It has some really cool sequences in it that I obviously will not be spoiling for you. The opening shot is awesome, and immediately tells you — the viewer — that this movie will not be condescending towards you and explain everything to you by dialogue, instead it’s going to give you all the clues visually. The movie’s quite thin on dialogue because of its dependence on visual story-telling, but it works extremely well.

Unfortunately, this makes the movie less accessible to the casual movie-goer, which doesn’t mean that people who don’t enjoy these kinds of films aren’t hardcore movie buffs or whatever. But, this isn’t a film, that you can just pop into your Blu-ray/DVD player and have a great time with. Under the Skin, which has a run-time of 108 minutes, takes its time to tell you its story. If you’re interested in watching this movie, then keep your phone away from you, and just focus on what’s going on the screen, and you’ll be fine.

The climax of the movie, when the big reveal takes place, was probably IMO the finest sequence in the film.

The soundtrack, composed by Mica Levi, who later went on to compose the award-winning soundtrack for 2016’s critical hit Jackie, was pretty great. Lipstick to Void has to be my personal favourite from it. The music complements the film rather well and didn’t take me out of the film.

So, there you have it, my review for 2013’s Under the Skin. I know it isn’t as in-depth as my previous reviews, but I cannot divulge any more of my thoughts about this film without spoiling it and ever since I’ve been doing these reviews I’ve made sure not to write anything in it, that may end up spoiling someone’s viewing experience.

But, if you want more on this film I will be linking an analysis video for Under the Skin by Ralph Sepe Jr. of ‘ralphthemoviemaker’ down below, as he’s done an excellent job with it.

Thank you and have a great day!

 

Tusk (2014) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

Tusk directed by Kevin Smith with Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment and Genesis Rodriguez.

 

Summary :

Podcaster Wallace Bryton ends up being held captive by old-time seafarer Howard Howe who has his own plans for Wallace.

So Tusk is a horror/comedy movie by Kevin Smith the director of Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma and many other movies. I love movies by Kevin Smith. My first Kevin Smith movie was Clerks and I was blown away it was so good. The movie is completely dialogue driven and I never for once got tired of it. But, moving on to Tusk

The plot of Tusk actually was inspired from this one very weird Gumtree advertisement which Kevin Smith read on his podcast with his friend/producer Scott Mosier which inspired Smith to make it into a full-length feature film.

So, I was kind of trying to not see anything regarding about this movie on the internet before watching it and I’m really satisfied with this movie. I know not everyone likes this movie but I was actually hooked on it till the end. Yes, some parts in between were like “Huh ?” but I enjoyed this movie to the fullest.

So, my in depth thoughts on this movie are as follows :

1.) The plot of Tusk is unique. This whole movie is unique. It starts of as a comedy then slowly progresses into the mystery genre and then becomes something really uncomfortable to watch but I loved every bit of it.

Don’t be fooled by the gimmicky part of this movie. There is a good amount of character background. As the movie progresses which at times goes back and forth between the past and present, we learn things about these characters especially the lead Wallace Bryton played by Justin Long has these secrets about him.

Genesis Rodriguez gave a very good performance and that monologue she had was really good and felt genuine. There is this small cameo by a certain famous Hollywood actor which I won’t spoil but I liked his bit except with a certain flashback the character tells about. That scene was just boring.

2.) Michael Parks deserves his own point because he was that good. I loved his role as this crazy handicapped guy with this weird obsession. The way he speaks the dialogues in such a smooth way was really nice.

3.) The movie was very funny in the first half and then very good as a mystery but I hated it when even this one scary scene where something happens to Justin Long and this really calm music is playing in the background. I mean I just didn’t find that tune in-sync with the scene. Then there is this bit by Michael Parks right near the end which was so weird. This whole movie is weird but good weird.

4.) The ultimate reveal was really good. I was so shocked when I saw it. That “WTF !” moment was so good. The ending of the movie is not what you would expect.

My only gripe with this movie is that maybe it should’ve been a proper horror movie which would’ve made it even more popular. And I read this on the internet that this movie is the first movie in a trilogy called the True North Trilogy.

I would recommend you to check out this movie because of a really weird story but amazing performances by all the cast and for the special cameo appearance because always go “Full Walrus”.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

 

Brick (2005) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

Brick directed by Rian Johnson with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas and Noah Fleiss.

Summary :

Brendan Frye investigates the death of his ex-girlfriend after she dies under mysterious circumstances.

So, Brick is a detective movie about this weird but smart kid trying to find the killer/killers of his ex-girlfriend. This is a good movie but it has its flaws. The dialogues in this movie are filled with slang which actually make the dialogue difficult to understand at first. If you actually sit through the first half an hour you slowly start getting the hang of the slang.

Then comes the plot. So,the plot becomes a bit difficult to understand because of two things :

a.) The movie’s pace is really fast. I mean this is not a “I-can-watch-this -while-texting-flick.” You really need to pay attention to the film to keep up. Every scene has something important happening in it. I actually had to go back some scenes just to get a hang of what happened then.

b.) As the plot moves quickly and because of the slang filled dialogue you actually get confused as to who is who and why is this particular thing happening. This movie will definitely require another viewing.

What I think here the thing is that this movie is maybe for the more “serious” cinema goers. The ones who watch a movie again and again to analyze every shot and dialogue. I highly doubt any casual movie fan can enjoy this without getting a little confused and irritated. And by no means do I think I am an artsy fart who thinks can enjoy any sort of movie. I myself got confused while watching this movie and was about to give up but then I thought of completing it anyway.

My thoughts on this movie are as follows :-

1.) Even though I complained about the dialogue being confusing, if you actually start understanding the terms then you really start loving the dialogues as they don’t give away too much. And it really is fun to just hear things like,”She copped the junk” and “He wants cash on the nail.” etc.

2.) The score is really good which helps in creating this tense environment. Guitars and these bells you hear are really soft on the ears and help in creating a sense of tension.

3.) This is one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s earlier work and it really shows how dynamic he really is. I really couldn’t believe this was the guy who later down the years will become Jon in Don Jon or Blake in The Dark Knight Rise or Arthur in Inception. This guy is really an amazing actor.

50/50 is a comedy film about a guy having cancer and this guy’s performance as the said cancer patient actually made me tear up in some scenes. We are truly lucky to have such an actor working in the industry.

4.) The other thing with this movie is that sometimes I actually found it funny. The reason being I found it a bit weird that these high school kids are doing such things and the parents don’t even care. But, that’s my opinion so I don’t know maybe it will lay out differently for you.

So guys Brick is a really good detective movie which requires all of your attention but it pays off really well in the end. I would recommend you to check this out if not for anything then Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance as Brendan Frye.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

Dragonball: Evolution (2009) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

Dragonball: Evolution Directed by Justin Wong with Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Emmy Rossum and Yun-Fat Chow.

Summary :

Goku goes on a journey to collect the seven dragonballs to stop the warlord Piccolo.

So, last night after I completed my The Emperor’s New Groove review I thought why not review a bad film. So, I went through my movie collection and I found Dragonball:Evolution.

I’d seen this movie back in 2010 and I’d kinda forgotten bits and pieces of it. So, yesterday I sat down, put the disk in the movie player and I LOST MY SANITY !!!

Let me give you my thoughts on DBE:

1.) So, what is wrong with DBE ?

The answer is everything ! I grew up watching Dragonball Z on Cartoon Network. A live-action Dragonball Z film would be any fan’s dream. But, this movie takes a giant turd on the entire source material and the characters. It’s even mentioned in the credits,”Based on the graphic novel by Akira Toriyama.” I mean this is so bad. There is a complete manga series which they could’ve used for as source material but they didn’t.

2.) There are many things which they got wrong and they’re as follows and the points given here are not in any proper order of the movie it’s just what I felt was wrong in the movie pointed out.

Here we go :

a.) What the fuck is this blood moon eclipse thing ? It’s not even in the anime. They even got the model of the Dragon Radar wrong. It’s not even called Dragon Radar in the movie.

b.) Then Goku tells his grandfather to teach him how to talk to girls because he’s different from others in the school. I mean this is so bad. You already started butchering the original story and now you’re defecating on our beloved childhood hero too ? Goku in the anime is an alien he never has seen any other humans except his grandfather but no, they didn’t keep this in the story but instead went with the high school crap.

c.) Piccolo’s face looks like Peter Greene after he wears the mask in The Mask. Piccolo is the main villain in the movie and he doesn’t even have much screen time and what is that shit with the flying CG machine ? And who is this weird hot Asian chick as his sidekick ?

d.) Then there is this shit with the characters and their acting. So, the thing is that everyone’s acting in this movie is abysmal. Justin Chatwin as Goku I mean were they high ? And then Yun-Fat Chow as Master Roshi is so bad. I started feeling uncomfortable whenever he would be on the screen. This whole movie made me feel uncomfortable. Emmy Rossum as Bulma was kinda OK I guess. And then there is Joon Park as Yamcha who is just there in the movie with bad ADR and speaking of Yamcha where the fuck is Puar ? James Marsters acting as Piccolo is just plain boring. The “Evil Piccolo” in the anime is so full of himself and just plain scary. But, here the Piccolo is like,”Meh, I’ll just takeover the world because I have nothing else to do.”

e.) They couldn’t even get fucking Shenron correct. They show us some low budget CG generic grey colored dragon. In what universe was Shenron grey ? Stop killing my childhood !

f.) I think the newer generation would end up liking this movie because if you’ve not seen Dragon Ball Z the anime or read the manga. Or if you don’t know who Goku, Master  Roshi and Piccolo is then this movie is for you. Seriously, you will enjoy this movie if you don’t have any idea about these things and if you don’t believe me check out the review section of this movie on IMDB. There are people who actually love this steaming bag of shit and want a sequel.

g.) Last but not the least is the fighting sequences which were done so poorly. The energy blasts looked like shit. The Kamehameha, one of the most enacted move by the fans is converted into some weird slow yoga thing.

The only reason I could stand watching this movie was because of this review. Otherwise I would’ve thrown it away that instant. My advice to all of you is to go watch the anime or read the manga but don’t ever come near this movie unless you want to be scarred for your life.

 

 

 

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

The Emperor’s New Groove by Mark Dindal with David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton.

Summary :

A cocky and self-centered Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his nemesis and with the help of a gentle villager he must try to change himself back into a human and win his kingdom again.

I love Disney movies but this one definitely steals the cake. I googled one day for funny animated movies and I found this movie in that list. So I thought why not give this one a go and I enjoyed this movie to my fullest. I laughed my ass off.

Now people are always gloating about Up, Toy Story, Aladdin etc. but I think this is one of those less discovered gems because this movie is really really funny. It’s duration is like an hour or something and I was so invested in the story that I didn’t even realize that I’d reached the last 20 minutes or so.

I don’t know if this is Disney’s fault for not marketing it well or what because you won’t believe it but this movie failed to go against Dude Where’s my Car ? I mean seriously the animation in this movie looks so good. I sometimes prefer animation like this rather than making it look almost plastic like Mars Needs Mom or what not.

So, I’ll quickly give you my thoughts regarding this movie :

1.) The voice acting done by David Spade as Kuzco is top notch. His voice is a perfect match for the character of this Emperor who’s so full of himself and that he doesn’t care about the hardships faced by anyone else but still making it funny. Eartha Kitt’s performace as the Nemesis Yzma is well done but I love Patrick Warburton’s work as this stupid and lovable  sidekick to Yzma.

2.) The dialogue in this movie is amazing. There is this scene concerning a waterfall and it is so funny. The ‘wrong lever’ bit is well done as well as the diner scene. There are some really good lines in this movie which you don’t find in animated movies a lot except a few A-Grade movies like Up or Inside Out.

3.) One more thing I love about the movie is that there is no usual love interest crap which we find in every movie be it animated or live-action. It just sticks to this one simple plot it has and carries the story forward through gags and dialogue.

4.) This movie like Inside Out or Toy Story or Finding Nemo can be enjoyed by adults as well as children.

5.) I still can’t believe that this movie failed to make more than “Dude Where’s my Car ?” this is simply outrageous and the reason is that DWMC got negative reviews while this one got positive reviews and still it lost. But, anyways it’s in the past so no need of crying about that now.

So, guys I would like to say that If you haven’t seen this film please do check it out because this is a perfect 5/5 movie in my opinion this is a perfect weekend movie.

Thank you for reading have a nice day.

 

 

 

Pulp Fiction (1994) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino. With John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman.

So, carrying on with my movie reviews of every movie directed by Quentin Tarantino until the release of The Hateful Eight, today I will be reviewing Tarantino’s 1994 cult hit Pulp Fiction.

I remember  watching this movie in 2011 because I’d seen Reservoir Dogs and I thought why not watch his next film. Boy, was I so happy that I did that because this movie is amazing !

If anybody hasn’t seen a Tarantino film I would highly recommend you to check out Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction because I’ve always found out that dialogue in a Tarantino movie is its USP. The plot is always so simple yet the dialogue makes it into something different.

I sometimes think Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are an important part of film history because these movies changed the game for the entire industry. These movies show that if you create an interesting plot with compelling dialogue and an amazing soundtrack people will go and see that movie.

This is what a story driven film is like. So, now I’ll state those things about this movie which I loved and some things which I didn’t :

1.) So, in Reservoir Dogs in the opening diner scene the discussion they have about the interpretation of Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin” and the debate which arises between Harvey Keitel and Steve Buscemi when he doesn’t tip wasn’t actually something important for the story though it gave a little background on Steve Buscemi’s character in a minor way it still was interesting.

But, what Pulp Fiction does here correctly is when during the opening scene Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer discuss which places they can rob is actually important to the plot. So, this is one difference I’ve found in this movie. Even the foot massage bit between John Travolta and Samuel Jackson is important to the story in a minor way as it is recalled in a scene after that.

2.) The second thing I would like to talk about is the pawnshop scene with Bruce Willis. I mean that scene is some next level thing. I saw this in 2011 and then I saw this directly yesterday so I had forgotten a few things. But man, once I saw this I was blown away. I know that Tarantino may have made this scene to creep out or even terrify audiences and it actually worked but I also found it funny.

3.) Harvey Keitel’s role was somewhat James Bond-ish but it was amazing I loved his character. Portraying him as an immaculate and precise guy. We also get to see a minor role played by Quentin Tarantino and he does a great job as well. His role didn’t seem that different to me from his role as Mr.Brown in Reservoir Dogs it’s almost as if he’s playing himself but I still love his cameos.

4.) The end of the movie is satisfactory, I think Tarantino further improved his craft by creating something very different and making it in a way which was accepted easily by the audience.

I would recommend anyone who hasn’t seen this movie to watch it at least once for the story, the dialogue and the Briefcase because this is an important part of film history and pop culture and those who’ve already seen this should at least give this movie another go just to really get those minor nuances which are present and also because this is a terrific movie !

So, going on with the reviews my next review before my exams commence will be Tarantino’s third film Jackie Brown

Reservoir Dogs (1992) Movie Review by Aaroh Palkar

So, I made this little announcement on Instagram that I want to review all the Tarantino films before The Hateful Eight releases. So, yesterday I saw Reservoir Dogs. This was my third viewing of the film. I enjoy Quentin Tarantino’s style a lot. His stories are not that unique but the dialogue is amazing. Dialogue in a Tarantino film flows so smoothly that it makes you feel as if you’re watching normal people having a regular conversation. So, going by the chronological order the first film is going to be Reservoir Dogs and yes I know his first film was My Best Friend’s Birthday released in 1987 but I’m going to watch all his mainstream feature films. So, yes the first film will be Reservoir Dogs and will end with Django Unchained.

AND YEAH THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

Movie:

Reservoir Dogs.

Summary:
Six criminals plan to rob a jewelery store but something there goes awfully wrong which leads them to believe that they have an undercover agent amidst them.

Thoughts:
1.) Ok, so this is the debut feature film by Tarantino and my God is it amazing. So, the unique thing about the plot of this movie is that they never show the robbery or the heist taking place. They just show what has happened to the surviving members. The cast contains Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen and a few more including a short role by the director Quentin Tarantino as one of the criminals.

2.) The dialogue is so good. I know I am gushing a lot about the dialogue but seriously it’s just frickin good. The opening seen where they are discussing about the meaning behind Madonna’s song,’Like a Virgin’ and the debate which arises when Steve Buscemi’s character doesn’t tip. Now, all of these things aren’t really important but still they are executed by the actors in such a way that you end up listening to them with a great interest.

3.) The next thing is the acting. Steve Buscemi is amazing, I mean he is the first guy who is certain that there is an informer amongst them. Unfortunately we don’t get much information on his background in the film which I would’ve liked. Then there is Michael Madsen who is not sane of mind. I read it on IMDB that he couldn’t do the torture scenes becuase he didn’t condone violence but the way he does it in the movie made me fear the man. Then there are good performances by Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth though I think if I give too much about them then the plot might get spoilt.

4.) The fact that you don’t get to actually see the robbery is very interesting as you actually don’t know what happened there but only get to know fragments about it through dialogues. But, if you want to know what happens during the robbery you can play the PS2 game of this movie but I guess that is extinct.

5.) The ending of the movie is really satisfying. No loose ends are left except character info on some of the criminals. But all in all this is a terrific film without any useless filler it just gets straight to the point. The pace of the plot is fast which will make that hour and a half go by fairly quickly.

So, this was my review of Reservoir Dogs and the next review will be of Tarantino’s cult hit Pulp Fiction.