The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

There's definite value to making a series of films at the same time: the quality and the "look and feel" is consistent, and the passion of the people involved, if present in the first film, is present in all of them. Most important of all (unlike in The Matrix or even the Star Wars series), it shows that the creators have thought through the implications of their story arc, rather than just generating sequels due to public pressure. In the case of The Lord of the Rings, it probably didn't hurt that the plot was based on a famous well-established book.

And this is how it ends. In The Return of the King, the filmmakers tell a fairly simple story: how the two Hobbits, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) finally return the powerful ring to the fires of Mount Doom. They take a well-paced 200 minutes to do so and every minute is worth watching.

The best character throughout the whole series of films for me was Smeagol (voiced Andy Serkis) whose history as he becomes the Gollum is showcased here, as is the corrupting nature of power. This is how the movie starts, and as everyone knows, it ends with his death. Perhaps the best lesson from this film is that Frodo is a potential Gollum, and Gollum is a potential Frodo.

The graphics were absolutely perfect. The final epic battle is a visual spectacle. And as has been the trademark in this movie series, the are interspersed with poignant scenes that are irrelevant to time and place, when viewed from an anthropomorphic perspective. Further, the visual scenes themselves a great mix of live action with computer-generated images which blend together seamlessly. The most anticlimactic moment had to do with the defeat of Sauron, which in the end I thought happened a little too easily. I would've liked to see him go head to head a little more with Frodo's friends.

No set of words in a review can do justice to The Lord of the Rings movies, save to say that it's best watched on a large screen with great surround sound so you can see for yourself why.

The Taking of Pelham 123 : movie review

Written by Film critic : Matt Willey : Movie Reviews Dvd and Blu-ray Reviews

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Is a New thriller starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta directed by Tony Scott shot in the subways of New York City. The story starts as a man who calls himself "Ryder," (John Travolta) leads a band of thugs as they highjack a subway train and MTA dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) who is Reluctantly forced to be the Lead negotiator.

movie review The Taking of Pelham 123

This Film is a remake of a 1974 movie of the same name and reworked to meet a new audience. With modern dialog and cell phones, laptop computers and of course the fact that 911 effects the city still, this film was a really fast pace based roughly on the old plot. There are some wild scenes in this movie of New York City as the Mayor, (James Gandolfini) agrees to pay a $10 million ransom and they try to get the money across the city to the subway station. If nothing else is worth the price of admission to see James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano as mayor of New York it’s so cool. Denzel Washington and John Travolta work wel together and their voices are what id cool to have to big name actors in a dialog driven story about two characters that interact over a radio on the subway car. This film was made for a younger audience and I think that those are ones that do go to the movies regularly.

I think my fellow Critics just didn’t get that part of the puzzle, that this film was made with the 17-27ish age group in mind, so it’s fast cuts and rough, realistic dialog. What would a career family man with a Wife and kids and an ex-con straight out of prison talk like, what would the banter be? I think the writers nailed it dead on and the two main actors and Gandolfini included deliver the lines flawlessly. Also, the fact that this film has scenes filmed on the streets of New York to would in my opinion must have been a logistical nightmare and an undertaking that is in itself a commendable feat. This film also has some great editing and that’s often overlooked, editor Chris Lebenzon stitches together a compelling series of images that suck you in, and work well with the Music by Harry Gregson-Williams. This is a good film, not a great film and it overcomes a story that is antiquated, and turns it into a new and improved version that is engaging to watch.

Directed by Tony Scott
Produced by Tony Scott, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch
Written by Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, David Koepp (uncredited),
Novel: Morton Freedgood
Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzman, John Turturro, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Frank Wood
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Tobias A. Schliessler
Editing by Chris Lebenzon
Studio Relativity Media, Scott Free Productions,Escape Artists
Distributed by Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

There are few roles in which I like Johnny Depp, but every time he plays an off-beat character, I really enjoy his performance. The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is one such occasion.

Here Depp stars as Jack Sparrow, the famous pirate captain of the Black Pearl who was abandoned on an island by his first mate Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Through luck, Jack manages to survive and ends up on Port Royal in the Caribbean where he encounters an ongoing soap opera featuring Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) the governor's daughter; Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), the son of a former pirate but taken in by the governor, and Norrington (Jack Davenport), the commander in charge of the armed forces on the island who is set to marry the governor's daughter. Jack not only has to deal with the governor and the commander who consider him a thieving pirate, but also with Barbossa and his crew who have now acquired the infamous curse of the Black Pearl.

One of the best aspects of the film is Depp's walk, which people say I mimicked when I was in Thailand and handed a drink which I just took a sip from but made me feel really woozy (there are stories of people drugging foreigners to take their money but fortunately I was with friends). It completely dominates the film. There's also a clever, but predictable, way out of the situation that Jack ends up being thrust in (namely, how does one kill things that can't die). In general the movie is characterised by situations where at first Jack appears to be doing something stupid but in reality is doing something very smart. This leads to some comic relief.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a surprisingly good movie, much better than I expected. I highly recommend checking it out on the big screen.

Adaalat : Adrushya Qatil Part - 2 - Episode 111 - 8th April 2012

Kim Kapoor brutally gets killed at her own residence later, Amjad reveals K.D.Pathak that Bathroom's door was opened by Prafful but a major twist takes place as Defense lawyer reads a letter which mentioned that Santosh was short-tempered during his school days and he had attacked his coach with a stump but Santosh reveals that half letter is right and the rest is false. Female instructor Hima tells K.D. that the letter was written by Ashely. Dagdu threatens Amjad. How will K.D.Pathak prove Santosh innocent? Will he solve the case through electro magnet device?
Adalat is a show - Promoolving around KD Pathak, a suave, sophisticated, witty and yet unconventional lawyer who is known as a 'Houdini' in circles of law because he can get his clients out of the tightest of situations. His success rate of acquittals is 100 percent. But most importantly KD stands not for his client, but for Justice.

KD has an amazing eye for detail and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know enough about every profession, and what he doesn't know he covers up/makes up with his smartness. A quick thinker.

KD steps into a case when all is doomed for the accused. All the doors are shut. When the prosecution has prepared a water tight open and shut case where even a blind man can tell that the accused is guilty. But no one can see the case from the angle KD does. He digs fervently for loopholes in the prosecution's case much to their frustration and thinking on his feet, he manages to turn the entire case around. Often through histrionics, magical gimmicks (since he has recently started learning magic ... and uses a parallel between magic and justice... that often what we see is not all... there is something beyond it), performances, which the Judge does not approve of ! And nor does his ex-love Maya (The Prosecutor who is often at the receiving end!) - But that is KD. Unstoppable, incorrigible and completely enthralling and entertaining. It is a treat to watch him perform in court week after week, tearing the toughest of cases to shreds and helping convict an evil scheming villain, and setting a poor hapless innocent victim free!

Adaalat : Adrushya Qatil Part - 1 - Episode 110 - 7th April 2012

Builder Chauradia orders Mr. Shetty to vacant the building as he gave one floor to Amjad without his permission but Mr. Shetty threatens him as he has contacts with mafia, later Gym owner Mr. Shetty gets murdered in his Gym and Gym instructor Santosh gets arrested as he was the only person present with him in the Gym. Female instructor Hima Shroff reveals a fake story. Hair stylist Amjad blames Santosh. Hotelier Prafful Patel finds Santosh's ring in the parking lot. Model Kim Kapoor tells court that Santosh was present with her in the parking lot. Who killed Mr. Shetty?
Adalat is a show - Promoolving around KD Pathak, a suave, sophisticated, witty and yet unconventional lawyer who is known as a 'Houdini' in circles of law because he can get his clients out of the tightest of situations. His success rate of acquittals is 100 percent. But most importantly KD stands not for his client, but for Justice.

KD has an amazing eye for detail and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know enough about every profession, and what he doesn't know he covers up/makes up with his smartness. A quick thinker.

KD steps into a case when all is doomed for the accused. All the doors are shut. When the prosecution has prepared a water tight open and shut case where even a blind man can tell that the accused is guilty. But no one can see the case from the angle KD does. He digs fervently for loopholes in the prosecution's case much to their frustration and thinking on his feet, he manages to turn the entire case around. Often through histrionics, magical gimmicks (since he has recently started learning magic ... and uses a parallel between magic and justice... that often what we see is not all... there is something beyond it), performances, which the Judge does not approve of ! And nor does his ex-love Maya (The Prosecutor who is often at the receiving end!) - But that is KD. Unstoppable, incorrigible and completely enthralling and entertaining. It is a treat to watch him perform in court week after week, tearing the toughest of cases to shreds and helping convict an evil scheming villain, and setting a poor hapless innocent victim free!

Adaalat : Episode 109 - 1st April 2012

Adalat is a show - Promoolving around KD Pathak, a suave, sophisticated, witty and yet unconventional lawyer who is known as a 'Houdini' in circles of law because he can get his clients out of the tightest of situations. His success rate of acquittals is 100 percent. But most importantly KD stands not for his client, but for Justice.

KD has an amazing eye for detail and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know enough about every profession, and what he doesn't know he covers up/makes up with his smartness. A quick thinker.

KD steps into a case when all is doomed for the accused. All the doors are shut. When the prosecution has prepared a water tight open and shut case where even a blind man can tell that the accused is guilty. But no one can see the case from the angle KD does. He digs fervently for loopholes in the prosecution's case much to their frustration and thinking on his feet, he manages to turn the entire case around. Often through histrionics, magical gimmicks (since he has recently started learning magic ... and uses a parallel between magic and justice... that often what we see is not all... there is something beyond it), performances, which the Judge does not approve of ! And nor does his ex-love Maya (The Prosecutor who is often at the receiving end!) - But that is KD. Unstoppable, incorrigible and completely enthralling and entertaining. It is a treat to watch him perform in court week after week, tearing the toughest of cases to shreds and helping convict an evil scheming villain, and setting a poor hapless innocent victim free!

Adaalat : Episode 108 - 31st March 2012

Adalat is a show - Promoolving around KD Pathak, a suave, sophisticated, witty and yet unconventional lawyer who is known as a 'Houdini' in circles of law because he can get his clients out of the tightest of situations. His success rate of acquittals is 100 percent. But most importantly KD stands not for his client, but for Justice.

KD has an amazing eye for detail and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always seems to know enough about every profession, and what he doesn't know he covers up/makes up with his smartness. A quick thinker.

KD steps into a case when all is doomed for the accused. All the doors are shut. When the prosecution has prepared a water tight open and shut case where even a blind man can tell that the accused is guilty. But no one can see the case from the angle KD does. He digs fervently for loopholes in the prosecution's case much to their frustration and thinking on his feet, he manages to turn the entire case around. Often through histrionics, magical gimmicks (since he has recently started learning magic ... and uses a parallel between magic and justice... that often what we see is not all... there is something beyond it), performances, which the Judge does not approve of ! And nor does his ex-love Maya (The Prosecutor who is often at the receiving end!) - But that is KD. Unstoppable, incorrigible and completely enthralling and entertaining. It is a treat to watch him perform in court week after week, tearing the toughest of cases to shreds and helping convict an evil scheming villain, and setting a poor hapless innocent victim free!