District 9 Blu Ray Review

After the deal to make the Halo movie fell apart, Peter Jackson gave Neill Blomkamp $30 million to make any movie he wanted. Blomkamp promptly turned his short science fiction film into a feature length movie. Through word of mouth and positive reviews from the critics, the movie did fairly well in the box office. Even with relatively unknown cast and director, the movie looks very professional and polished. Without asking too much question, the movie stands well as a science fiction film. However, as a science fiction genre fan, I was left with a lot of question and unfulfilled expectation. Before I watched the movie, I liked the overall premise of the film of aliens stranded on Earth and having to interact with humans. However, after watching the movie, I felt little let down by the movie.

The movie opens up with the arrival of the aliens on their spaceship. While hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa, the aliens do not make any attempt to come out. The South African government sends in the troops to assess the situation. They find disoriented and confused aliens cowering in the ship. We move forward in years and see that they are settled in a shantytown called District 9. The overall story involves a weapon manufacturing firm’s quest to use the alien weapons. They get their chance when Wickus is exposed to alien substance that transforms him into human/alien hybrid that can utilize the alien weapons. While being chased, Wickus meets an alien who is attempting to get back on the ship in order to leave Earth. Together, they attempt to reverse the mutation by getting the alien back on his ship.

Taken as whole, the movie is fairly well made. It has entertaining plot line and some good special effects and action scenes. You can see the influence the Apartheid had on the director. The District 9’s setting was an actual shantytown where the poor populace inhibits. The overall treatment of aliens is clearly reminiscent of the treatment of black population by the whites in South Africa. I had no problem with the incorporation of Apartheid theme in the movie. However, I did have problem with the overall story. How can an advanced civilization be reduced to animal like creatures depicted in the movie? How can a civilization that’s capable of producing powerful weapons be reduced to being caged in District 9? The director doesn’t explain any of these questions. Instead, we are to believe a civilization that’s capable of space travel reduced to fighting over cat food. He does nothing to explain or hint a plausible story line. Instead, he focuses on the Apartheid theme and we are left to fill in the blank. With small explanation, I could have liked the movie much more. Instead, I’m left with some dissatisfaction.

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Inglourious Basterds Blu ray movie review

As a big fan of Quentin Tarantino, I was little bit disappointed with his last two films. Kill Bill and Death Proof was a letdown compared to his earlier movies like Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Nevertheless, I was excited to watch his latest film, Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino takes his shot at a World War 2 film in Inglorious Basterds. Inglorious Basterds is a different type of war movie. It is dark, violent, funny, and has tint of alternative fiction element. You really would not expect a conventional film from Tarantino. The overall premise borrows from previous war films for over all framework. However, Tarantino adds his own flavor to the movie.

The movie takes place in Nazi occupied France. The Nazis track down any French that harbor the Jews in order to exterminate them. In one such occurance, Jewish family harbored by their neighbor is slaughtered in the opening scene. Shosanna is the only survivor who runs away from Colnel Hans Landa’s atrocity. Years later, Shosanna plots her revenge when her theater is selected to show a film featuring a German hero. The high ranking Nazi officers and the Hitler himself is announced to attend the event. Meanwhile, Lt. Aldo Raine assembles a group of Jewish-American guerilla force to harass the German forces in France. They hear of the movie event and decide to take down Hitler and his officers.

The plot doesn’t sound like much. However, it’s Tarantino’s dark humor and style that makes the movie such a great experience. There are only small numbers of violent scenes. But, the scenes are funny and cringe worthy at the same time. The violent bar scene is one of the best action sequences in a war movie. The scene contains no CG or crazy explosion. Instead, the comical build up right before the violence and subsequent mayhem is pure Tarantino. Brad Pitt deserves some award for his portrayal of redneck Lt. Hell bent on killing Hitler. Overall, any fan of Tarantino should not miss this film.

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Public Enemies Blu ray movie review

The combination of John Dillinger and Michael Mann should have produced a blockbuster film. Michael Mann has consistently delivered satisfying action movie like Heat and Miami Vice. You can argue few can match Mann’s action flicks. While other directors like Bay are known for action movies as well, they can’t match the story telling and superior directing evident in Michael Mann’s movies. This is why I was very excited to watch his latest film about John Dillinger. On the surface, John Dillinger’s biography sounds like a perfect match for Michael Mann. However, that is not the case for me. While the movie undoubtedly polished and slick, it’s about 30 minutes too long too little action for my taste.

John Dillinger was a famous bank robber in the 1930s. The movie picks up with the prison escape orchestrated by John Dillinger. After the escape, he goes back to bank robbing without the fear of authorities. He openly robs bank and laughs in the face of FBI and local law enforcement agency. During all the mayhem, he manages to meet and date Billie Frechette. To bring down the outlaws, FBI turns to Melvin Purvis. He is charge of tracking down Dillinger and his gang. Purvis is directed by the J. Edgar Hoover himself to uphold FBI’s image and reputation. Most of us are familiar with John Dillinger story and know how it all ends.

Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, and Marion Cotillard round out the top notch cast. You can’t find and fault in their acting as they are all top notch actors. The movie itself is very polished and have high production look. But, the overall pace and the story didn’t hold my attention throughout the movie like other Michael Mann movies. The action sequence seemed tame compared to other movies. I know the movie is set in 1930s. However, the action scenes were rather sedate and boring for most part. Also, the story could have been shortened by 30 minutes or more. There were some scenes and story line that were not particularly relevant or needed in the film. Overall, this is my least favorite Michael Mann film. If you want good old school gangster film, watch Road to Perdition.

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Orphan Blu ray movie review

Orphan was a pleasant surprise. The trailers suggested another horror/thriller movie featuring a creepy little child murdering everyone. There has been influx of horror films featuring a young child as the main evil character. Orphan deserves to be considered one of the best amongst them. There’s something to be said about a small girl going on a murderous rampage. It’s more scary and creepy at the same time. Director Jaume Collet-Serra’s decision to cast Isabelle Fuhrman as the lead was stroke of genius.

With exception to the small twist toward the end, the plot is very straight forward. The audiences aren’t kept in the dark about the malice nature of Esther. We see from the early on that this little girl is bad news. And, the director or the writer doesn’t try to hide it any way. It is not a thriller/horror film that challenges the viewers to guess who the real bad guy is. John and Kate decide to adopt two years after Kate gives birth to stillborn girl. They end up adopting Esther from an orphanage. Things start to go bad at the school and at home. Esther pits everyone against each other. Kate sees her for who she is while John tries to protect Esther. The suspense and violence is nothing new. But, the little twist at the end and the performances make the movie very watchable.

A lot of the reviewers might consider this a “B” movie. However, it is unfair to label this movie in such manner. While it is fairly derivative, the performance and overall execution is very well done. The performance by Isabelle Fuhrman in this movie has been compared to Natalie Portman in The Professional. Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga are both very good actors in their own right. This is definitely one of the better horror/thriller movies of 2009.

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Terminator Salvation Blu ray movie review

After three Terminator movies, the franchise finally moves into the future and the battle between Skynet and surviving humans. The end of third Terminator alluded to inevitable Judgement Day and the eventual confrontation between the machines and surviving humans. The third movie was definitely a letdown compared to the first two directed by James Cameron. While I didn’t expect that type of excellence, I did expect a better film than the third film. Terminator Salvation comes close to being good. But, it could have been much better movie and launched the franchise in new setting and story line. There was so much wasted potential in this movie and the franchise.

When the movie starts, the setting is well after the Judgement Day. The battle for the survival of human species is well under way. We meet Marcus Wright in 2003 where he agrees to donate his body to research while imprisoned. In 2018, John Connor survives an ill fated attempt on Skynet. However, during the attack, he discovers that Skynet is working on a new model called T-800. Meanwhile, Marcus runs into Kyle Reese and they attempt to locate the resistance stronghold. Once they do find the location of John Connor and the resistance, he is revealed to be a machine. This sets off suspicion and mistrust toward Marcus. Marcus however, cannot believe he is an actual machine. Even though he accepts that he is a machine, he agrees to help John Connor and resistance against the Skynet.

The atmosphere and dark and gritty setting of the future was very fitting for the movie. The overall acting and special effects were excellent as well. Christian Bale and Sam Worthington are both great as the two leads in the movie. However, movie falls little short on the plot and overall story line. The whole machine and humanity aspect of Marcus was little cliché and Kyle Reese was way under used in the story line. The Terminator franchise finally moves into the actual war and it feels like this movie failed to take advantage of the fresh start and the abundant lore in Terminator universe. Even so, I am looking forward to more Terminator movies if there will one a fifth installment in this iconic series.

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