Movie Buzz!

Movie Reviews (Part-1):
You have probably noticed by now that I have many posts on films and cinema in general. I always wanted to make them more organized. For the start I decided to give two posts each month specifically to movie reviews; one of the posts will be short reviews of Newly Released films and the other one will be a review of older films that I regularly see on DVD. This is also a start point for Tameshk's interactive Film Club. (Let me know if you like to join!)

Recently Released:

Iron Man (2008): A Must See movie directed by Jon Favreau, who among other films also directed Elf in 2003. This action supper hero adventure is not like other super-heroic characters out of comic books; Unlike many other super heroes Iron Man does not get its power from a mysterious source or from a science experiment-going-wrong, Iron Man consciously built its super heroic power. It is an Iron shield that enables him to fly by using a small reactor. Iron Man is the supper hero of engineers; he is a genius inventor whose lifetime achievement was producing elaborate and efficient arms and weapons; But not any more. The plot is very well written (more than 7 people worked on the screenplay and the development of characters) and the movie ends beautifully. Every single shot of this 126 min film is worth it. and who doesn't love Robert Downey as Tony Stark & Iron Man. I hope you get to see it on the big screen. My vote is A for Iron Man.


The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher, 2007) directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky is the story of the largest counterfeiting plot in history that was set up by Nazis in the late 30’s. The Counterfeiters portrays the inside story of a group of prisoners (professionals and criminals) who are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Berhard by Nazi regime. Karl Markovics’ brilliant performance as Salomon Sorowitsch (Sally) has such a grip on the viewer that he or she doesn’t need to know German to understand his character. Unlike many other World War II films The Counterfeiters is more than anything is the story of survival rather than resistance: survival of the fellow prisoners survival of self and survival of the Nazi regime. Yet at the end one easily comes to agreement with Sally, that under any dictatorship surviving is the most powerful resistance. Don’t let the foreign language scare you; it is very easy to follow the English subtitle. My vote is A- for The Counterfeiters.


The Bank Job (2008) is not actually this month’s movie but I have seen it recently. A crime-thriller directed by Roger Donaldson who also directed Cocktail (1988) and The World's Fastest Indian (2005), Bank Job is based on the true story of Baker Street bank robbery in 1971. One of the biggest bank robberies in Great Britain which was never solved or better say never told for over 30 years, only to cover a robbery ordered by government. It is well directed and despite its straight story Bank Job remains exciting throughout the film: a bank robbery plot that has a complex conclusion for its engaging criminals. It is an entertaining B+ film. For me the only thing that is bothersome is the ending sequence and David Suchet’s (Lew Vogel) physical struggle with Jason Statham (Terry leather). (David Suchet played Detective Hercule Poirot in my favorite Agatha Christie series)


Baby Mama (2008) directed by Michael McCullers is a disaster. I don’t want to be hard on a first time director but no matter how much I try, the nicest way to say it is that Baby Mama is a terrible comedy with a bad story. The movie is a proof that a bunch of great and funny SNL actresses cannot save a movie that has a terrible story. The movie tries to touch on the life of a single successful businesswoman and the issues regarding surrogacy and it fails heavily. I am really glad that they had Romany Malco (Oscarr) there otherwise my face even wouldn’t have that one smile during the film. My vote is C- for Baby Mama.


Forgetting Sara Marshall (2008) directed by Nicholas Stoller is a very funny romantic comedy. The movie is a success especially since it is Stoller's first directing experience. Walking on the tin edge of relationship, sex and betrayal Forgetting Sara Marshall easily escapes from being cheesy. The movie benefits form the strong performances by Kristen Bell and Jason Segel. I am definitely looking forward to Stoller’s second film: Get Him To Greek. My vote is B+ for Forgetting Sara Marshall.


I very much want to see The Visitor (2008) directed by Tom McCarthy. I hope to find some time soon. And the film that I am not going to see on the big screen is Sex & The City (2008); I think it is only wiser to get it from Netflix; I don't mind at all to wait for it.

Robert Downey, Iron Man 2008