Rambo 4 : John Rambo

Director - Sylvester Stallone

Genre - Action/Thriller

America's greatest weapon in movie history John Rambo ages but his thirst for blood is still unfulfilled. This time, the killings are more gory and horrible. Heads and limbs come off like LEGO people, as Rambo unleashes all the pent-up rage he has kept all these years. Written and directed by Stallone himself, this is quite an adrenaline rush of a movie. Recommended for action genre and Rambo fans.

3 STARS!

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Kids

Director - Larry Clark

Genre - Drama

Indie director Larry Clark's observation about the carefree, unsupervised lives of a group of young kids. Skateboarding, drugs and sex is sprinkled all over this stark, documentary-like film. Coupled with real life, unhollywood dialogue, it has a very anti-establishment and anti-studios feel to it. Despite its rebellious theme, the film is light on plot and feels empty. Watch out for a very young Chloë Sevigny.

3 STARS!

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Inland Empire

Director - David Lynch

Genre - Drama/Mystery

Watching a Lynch movie is an experience that combines the power of dream-like sequences, music and dejavu. He is an expert in mind-f*cking the audience but this time he might have gone too far. This is a maze that has no exit but the experience is still worth it. The soundtrack selected by Lynch is as haunting as ever and Laura Dern's acting deserves special mention as well. Good luck in figuring this film out though!

3 STARS!

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Do The Right Thing

Director - Spike Lee

Genre - Comedy/Drama

Good script and acting put this movie on top. It's an incisive study of racial tension and understanding. Lee shows the ugly sides of the races involved, sparing no one. In the end, we are left to ponder on the consequences of being ugly to each other. The cinematography though, is extremely 80's MTV, which reduces to an extent the appeal of this movie. Especially the opening credit sequence which looks like a Paula Abdul MTV.

4 STARS!

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Kim Ki-Duk's DREAM

Source from Twitch

The first poster images for the latest from 3 Iron director Kim Ki-Duk arrived at the Hong Kong Filmart and they are tasty bits of work. The film is titled Dream and it features Japanese star Jo Odagiri in the lead as a man whose dreams seem to be bleeding out into reality and who has a strange connection with a sleep walking woman. The film is through principal photography and into post production now.

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Takashi Miike's Sci-Fi Romance GOD'S PUZZLE

Source from Twitch

While still churning out the madness at a furious pace, Japanese maverick film maker Takashi Miike does like to step back from time to time and make something a little bit tamer than the work he’s best known for and the upcoming God’s Puzzle - due for a summer release in Japan - looks to be one of those films. A little bit comedy of errors, a little bit young romance, a little bit sci-fi. The producer on this was also behind recent Japanese hits Yamato and Tsubaki Sanjuro so you can bet this will have a much more mainstream approach than the bulk of Miike’s work.

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Ashes Of Time

Director - Wong Kar Wai

Genre - Action/Drama

Wong Kar Wai has a real gift of getting the best performances out of his actors and the cast in this film is no different. Special mention has to be given to Maggie Cheung who turned in an incredible, heart wrenching performance. Tony Leung's cool portrayal of a tragic swordsman is awesome too. Wong had certainly turned the whole genre of sword fighting movies on its head and given us his own unique version. Cinematography and soundtrack is as always impeccable.

5 STARS!

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No Country For Old Men

Director - Ethan & Joel Coen

Genre - Crime/Drama/Thriller

Adapted from a novel by Cormac MaCarthy, this Coen brothers' movie is about the evil that men do. Like an unstoppable plague, this evil is represented in all its sick f*cking glory by Javier Bardem's character. There has never been a more frightening villain in cinema, even with that hideously funny hair. At times the suspense created by the Coens is so thick it is almost unbearable and this adds to the film's brilliance as well.

5 STARS!

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The Football Factory

Director - Nick Love

Genre - Crime/Drama

A movie about the imbecilic lives of football hooligans. Drinking, fighting and shagging is all these overgrown bullies think about but somehow you can't help but root for them, especially if you are a guy because these low lives appeal to our primal male urges to let it all hang out, create havoc and generally make absolute asses of ourselves. The acting is also refreshingly good for a movie of this genre.

4 STARS!

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The Hoax

Director - Lasse Hallström

Genre - Comedy/Drama


Based on true events. Richard Gere plays a down and out writer who decides to dupe everyone into believing he is writing the autobiography of Howard Hughes with the latter's exclusive permission. In short, Gere plays his most challenging role yet. Discarding his romantic leading man persona for once, he finally proves he is an actor. Highly engaging story!

4 STARS!

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Hollywoodland

Director - Allen Coulter

Genre - Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller


Ben Affleck is highly effective here in a role that finally makes him act. George Reeve's tragic life stems from his big ambition and failure to reconcile this with his career as a man who wears his underwear on the outside. The script is good and effective. Affleck's portrayal of Reeves and his tragic life will have you symphatizing and caring, something Affleck has never done before in his career.

4 STARS !

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Grindhouse

Planet Terror





Director - Robert Rodriguez

Genre - Action/Comedy/Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Watching a B-Movie that was made in the past is like a novelty. You laugh at the silly dialogue, plot and acting. To make a movie now that has all those silly things would be pointless and unforgivable. It would be like re-introducing the Walkman into the market when we are now using Ipod.

2 STARS!


Death Proof






Director - Quentin Tarantino

Genre - Crime

Tarantino's Death Proof is arguably the better half of Grindhouse. Infused with his witty dialogue and great acting from the cast, this movie is technically superior to Rodriguez's. Rodriguez has simply made a B-Movie complete with intentional bad acting and corny lines. Tarantino knows the futility of this and made his movie not within the confines of B-Movies but has instead tweaked the genre into his own.

3 STARS!

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The Brave One

Director - Neil Jordan

Genre - Crime/Drama/Thriller


An overhyped revenge flick that offers nothing new. Jodie Foster dons a leather jacket and goes all 'Punisher'. Predictable storyline and lack of believability that small-bodied Jodie Foster could actually take on these bad guys fail the movie. Even Terrence Howard who was great in Hustle & Flow couldn't save this as he's given a disappointing, wallpaper role here.

1 STAR!

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Spun

Director - Jonas Akerlund

Genre - Comedy/Crime/Drama

Featuring a soundtrack coordinated by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins and a big cast of actors, this indie movie aims to please. That is if you do like Corgan's music and stars like Mickey Rouke, Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo and Mena Suvari. If that is not enough, there is also plenty of boobies and drug-induced mayhem. Cinematography is slightly mtv-ish but in a good way. Quite likable and quirky.

3 STARS!

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