Aeon Flux
The following review has been rated R for strong violence, nudity, blood and gore. Viewer discretion is advised
Monday, April 03 2006 - 1237 hours - present
“Excuse me … coming through …”
Three 20 something guys rushed up the stairs, bumping into people as they went along …
“Hey! Watch it!” someone yelled …
“Sorry …”
The three of them made their way up the stairs, into the strategically placed college library on the third floor of the building.
As they barged into the library, a few people looked up from the books they were reading - completely interupted … until what had been a lazy monday morning.
The three scanned for the newspaper stands and rushed in that direction.
“I’ll cover Express …” one of them yelled .. trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
“I’ll take times”, “and I’ll check out Herald” the other two pipped back .. as they made their way to the Newspaper stand.
Monday, April 03 2006 - 1235 hours - 2 minutes ago
“Ma’am … would you be seeing our project today?” said one of them to their project guide.
“Hmm … is it okay if I see it tomorrow? I am not feeling that well now” came the reply.
Monday, April 03 2006 - 1238 hours - present
“Oye … V for Vendetta was at 10:30 … next is at 6:30 … wanna go ?” asked one.
“Negative … we need to work in the evening … it has to be now …” came the reply
“How about Aeon Flux? Its at 12:45 at Adlabs …”
“Hmm … hows the movie?”
“Supposed to be good. Its got Charlize Theron man … supposed to be a sci fi super hero kind of movie”
“Hey .. I read a review today. She’s supposed to be an assasin. Though the newspaper review wasn’t that great”
“Hey … we need to take a decision in 1 minute. Either we go now or then tomorrow”
“Ok .. lets do it …”
“I think we’ll take 10 mins to reach Adlabs if we take it via KP … what say?”
“Done …”
“Okay cool … lets do this”
I’d like to bring to your attention here, that this is how bad decisions are made. I was unfortunate to be one of the “three”
The Review, Finally
So in the next 10 minutes (if you’re still here), we were at Adlabs … comfortably seated.
The movie had just started - and all we had missed was the National Anthem and the opening two minutes.
Aeon Flux the movie, is a pretty much waste of time and money.
The movie, as the posters will blatantly read out … is all Charlize Theron.
So, from the first shot to the end, its Charlize all the way …
One shot of her close up, then a wider angle, then her eyes, then her telepathic vision, then she kicking butt, then she flying then she …. etc etc …
You might be wondering, but it’s Charlize you idiot ! Whats wrong with that?
I had thought the same thing too, but by the end of the film, with 100 bucks down (out of which 50 bucks was for a freakin coke !!!), I realised that even that wasn’t worth it.
Okay, back to the movie
The movie tries to be very slick (it being set 400 years in the future … so it has to be)
The movie is a mixture of (all the bad things) of all the previous Sci fi movies …
In the end, there is no “sci” in the “sci - fi”
You’ll find traces of “The Island” (a lot of it), “I, Robot”, “Minority Report”, etc etc.
The Script … and the thing you call editing
Unfortunately, the movie does not have any of it.
Its like they hired Charlize Theron, got her an acrobatics trainer, gave her a tight suit and asked her to jump around while they shot her.
The editing is non existent, with shots following one another which have no connection between them …
Most of the plot is very masala hindi movie-ish … and with pretty ordinary acting, turns out to be very corny.
Till the end, every shot is very predictable … and you’re left wishing for something wacky to happen (like Charlize being the main mastermind villain or something) so that you could say .. “Woah .. never saw that coming” and probably losing 100 bucks wouldn’t sting that much …
But guess what? No such thing happens and by the end of the movie, when you step out of the theatre, you’re left wondering whether a law should be passed which jails good actors for acting in crappy movies.
The background score was not noticeable … it had more or less the qualities a sci fi movie should have.
The two best parts of the movie were no doubt the interval and the end credits.
Please don’t go and watch the movie if your life depended on it.
Maybe if someone kidnapped a loved one and threatened to kill them if I didn’t watch it, then maybe I would consider going for it …
8/21/2005
Batman Begins …
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Author Note:
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I know this movie has come and gone … but I absolutely loved this flick …
For those who haven’t seen, can probably rent a DVD and for those who have, well, rent a DVD and see it again …
Cheers …
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Riddle me This, Riddle me That …
Whose afraid of the Big Black Bat ?
Remember these lines ?
They were by ‘’The Riddler'’ from Batman Forever which starred Val Kilmer, Jim Carry and the gang …
Did you see that movie … or more likely … the Circus ?
Superhero movies have come of age …
Okay, okay, so the only other decent superhero flick was ‘’Spiderman 2′’ and Sam Raimi needs to be complimented on the fantastic job !
Batman is one of my favourite characters, and also the most abused by Hollywood.
All the previous batman movies are, in my view, plain disasters …
The plots were highly thin and you did not know whether to laugh or cry or squirm.
I actually preferred the cartoon batman on Cartoon Network to the other movies …
Then, Cristopher Nolan comes along, and gives us a kick-ass of a movie.
A batman movie.
How a batman movie should be.
… dark …
Batman Begins takes us on the journey, of how Batman came to be …
It traces his childhood and then into his young adult life, educating us on how the Bruce Wayne - Batman persona came to be …
The main reason why I liked the movie is that it is true to the Batman genre …
Its very dark …
The cinematography is excellent and very well thought off.
This is the first Batman movie, which you can actually go to the movie for the story.
It has a pretty thick plotline which draws you into the movie and you are left wanting for more …
Even 2 hours and 15 mins doesn’t seem enough.
Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne ( and Batman ) and does a superb job while at it.
He pulls the ‘’I don’t give a damn … and I can kick your ass'’ attitude very well throughout the movie as Batman … and then sobers down to the debonair, rich playboy Bruce Wayne without effort.
Michael Caine is the ever faithful Alfred and has done justice to his role, even though it is not a very big one …
The movie also has Morgan Freeman, who actually does not need anything to be said about him … His acting was as usual, quite flawless …
Another cast member, whom I was very impressed by was Cillian Murphy who plays the Asylum doctor and does an excellent job.
His cold, calculated demeanor fits the character very well …
Katie Holmes plays Bruce Wayne’s love interest … but her role in the movie is quite small …
No Batman movie is complete without the Special Effects and this movie was no exception.
Though, unlike it’s predecessor’s, all the effects in the movie were subtle … and you could not actually make them out … but you knew that they were there …
The music in the movie gelled perfectly with the theme.
Actually, for most part of the movie, you’ll notice the music playing in the background.
The music accentuates the drama and the tension in the movie and will help in getting you to the edge of your seat on many occasions.
Umm … so this is it, I guess.
If you are a batman fan you’ll love the movie … heck, you’ll even love it if you’re not a fan …
Not a movie to be missed …
The Island
I won’t be going in depth, about what the movie is all about, coz it will just spoil it for you …
The theme of the movie is not apparent immediately … and takes till sometime before the interval to sink in …
Instead, I’ll talk about the other aspects of the movie and the reasons why you would want to watch it in the first place …
The Movie Starts
The first thing that hits you when the movie starts is that it is slick … slick, slick, slick …
Futuristic technology, a lot of reflecting surfaces, lots of ’show off’ camera angles …
The fast paced ‘Italian Job’ kinda music … the works …
The overall theme feels like a mix of Italian Job, I Robot, a lot like Minority Report … and some places like National Treasure …
There is nothing that hasn’t been done before …
The concept …
The concept that the movie plays around with is, very, very interesting … and as you will later realise, makes about 50% of the reason you should watch this movie …
This is a Sci-fi, all out action movie … and if you’re a sci fi fan, you should probably check it out …
Cast and crew
The movie is directed by Michael Bay … the same guy who did Pearl Harbour …
The similarity is obvious … coz this movie too, turns into a masala Hindi movie by the time it ends …
It could have ended a lot, lot better … but sadly, ending feels like a cliched masala Bollywood flick, only with a lot more gizmos going on and a lot of jazz …
The leading actor is Ewan McGregor who does a decent job … but the other 45% reason for going for the flick is because of Scarlett Johansson …
Who, I must admit … doesn’t do much except play a very lost, confused girl … but looks absolutely stunning while playing the part …
Yup … I’d give it 45% of the reason for watching this movie …
The rest of the cast do justice to their role …
The bad guy (Sean Bean) plays your regular bad guy …
Djimon Hounsou ( also Constantine ), does his part well … and so does Steve Buscemi who also played supporting roles in Desperado and Armageddon …
Cinematography
As I had said before … the movie plays slick … and I reckon, its a bit too slick for its own good …
The director just goes into this ’show off’ mode and the entire movie is just cuts and swishes and chase cams … which could be done without …
At the end, you just get sick of them … and whine everytime another helicopter fly by scene happens …
There is a lot of running and chase scenes with shaky camera angles … which seems to be the defacto standard nowadays …
Music
The music is so so …
Nothing very great … and gets somewhat loud at times …
You can sense gladiator kinda theme at places …
Action Sequences
This is an action movie … and there are tonnes of sequences …
Many of them very well done …
But all of them lack that adrenaline rush … no edge of the seat action here …
USP
The unique selling points of this entire flick are, as I said before … the concept and Scarlett Johansson …
If you’re a sci fi fan … this movie is probably worth your 50 bucks …
Enjoy 
