Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)

In my last post, We have seen Robin Williams played as a villain in "Insomnia"..
This time, Its Pierce Brosnan's turn in this infamous/underrated  movie "Shattered (Butterfly on a wheel)"..
"Butterfly on a Wheel" - directed by Mike Barker (who impressed me well with his "Best Laid Plans") with Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello & Gerard Butler in the lead roles..

Story line in short - "It circles around an young married couple's fight with a kidnapper who got their child"..
Thats it..I am not gonna elaborate it more.. Because, Shattered is a movie that you really need to stay away from watching/reading too much about it.. Reading up on too much information can spoil the entire movie for you..

"Butterfly on a Wheel" is truly a great suspense Thriller.. For the whole 90 minutes, I was working out to find what the plot is all about.. Is it a sort of Psycho act? or Business related rival's act?..
Well, I got answered at its twist ending..

Honestly speaking, I watched "Butterfly on a Wheel" only for Pierce Brosnan (As always, He is Awesome!!)..
His transformation as a Bad Guy is an excellent move (after his Bond series movies) & it worked out well in this movie..
After "The Thomas Crown Affair", this is - without a doubt the best performance he has done..
Especialy in the denouement scene, Brosnan almost humanizing in his acting..

I loved Pierce Brosnan's intro.. With the menacing backround music, He is introduced with a cool helicopter shot that swoops in over the Chicago city, angles down for a overhead view of rooftops, finally ending with Brosnan on one of those roofs.. In the same continuos shot, the camera swings around him who is surveying the city through binoculars..
(I read a article about this shot.. Mike Barker reveals that this once single shot is actually a combination of multipe different shots.. Seriuolsy, I could not detect those cuts.. It was such a superb-flawless editing..)

Apart from Pierce Brosnan - Maria Bello & Gerard Butler played as the impacted couple gave a decent performance..

As i said earlier - Dont get into any ideas.. Just, Go & watch.. You will not be shattered..:-)
The less you know - the more you will enjoy!!

Related Link:
Shattered (Butterly on wheels) @ IMDB

Trailer:


Cheers!!

Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia (2002) is a well crafted/cat & mouse/psychological crime drama, (which is a  remake of a Norwegian film with the same name) directed by Christopher Nolan..

Veteran Homicide Detective Al Pacino, along with his partner Martin Donovan from LA - were called to Alaska to resolve the murder mystery of a teen girl.. Both were assisted by a young local cop Hilary Swank, who has long idolized Al Pacino and his work. In an attempt to catch the  murder suspect Robin Williams, ( Yes, he is the culprit) Al Pacino mistakenly shoots his own partner.. Not knowing that Robin Williams seen all this, Al Pacino started constructing an ever more complex web of lies to hide it.. Now it’s the killer’s turn - Starting to play a sort of mind game with the Detective..

Title Insomnia , (meaning  sleeplessness) – resembles Al Pacino’s  inability to sleep because of  Alaska's midnight sun and his guilt over killing his partner..

Once again, Al Pacino delivered his best  & portrayed  what the movie requires from him.. He looks dead tired and sleepy through-out the movie.. Scene after scene he looks as if he is just ready to collapse on the ground and sleep, but he can't… That is what Insomnia means..

I am surprised to see Robin Williams as the killer.. We all (at least  me) used to see him always a a comedian.. This  movie is at its best when Williams is on the screen – when he explains the things & making  Al Pacino to coverup both the murders which will save both of their lives. ..
Personally I feel – Nolan could have included more scenes of Williams tormenting Pacino..

Hilary Swank, who played the role of local cop -  gave a decent performance..
(I should write about  Hilary Swank in a separate post.. She is another good actress, who impressed me in Million Dollar Baby) ..

Chirstopher Nolan  is well known for his Memento &  much hyped  recent release Inception..
I dint like inception much.. The fact is after seeing 2 times, I couldn’t understand..
I m not comfortable in watching a movie twice to better understand it.. :-)

Opening musical score was quite good (played when Al Pacino moving into Alaska) and it really pulled  me into the movie.. It sets the tone for a suspense cop thriller..

It's a film that shows us how real life is - nobody's perfect & 100% good. .

If you are looking for a sort Thriller with Breathless chase, this is possibly not for you..

To conclude, I would like to give two quotes I loved a lot:
1) Robin Williams: (To Al Pacino) :  "Life is so important. How could it be so f**king fragile?"
2) Al Pacino (To Hilary Swank): You know.. Small lies, Small mistakes..  People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It's just human nature. Aren't you gonna write that down?

Related Link:
Insomnia @IMDB
Insomnia Original (Norwegian) version @IMDB

Trailer:



Cheers!!

You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

I watched almost all Adam Sandler’s movies, starting from Billy Madison & Happy Gilmore (that is how his own home production company Happy Madison named).. You might have also seen his famous flicks like 50 First Dates, Bedtime Stories, Grown Ups & Just Go with It on Television Channels.. He started up his career as a standup comedian & now he has grown up as a popular American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer..


In my childhood days, I liked Jim Carrey ..
But now, Adam Sandler replaced Jim Carrey..
Was it due to the fact that Jim Carrey mostly made laugh by making a fool of himself ?? - Certainly not :-)

When I thought of writing about one Adam Sandler’s movie here in my blog, I picked up You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) , the one which I watched a couple of months back..
 

YDMwtZ (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan) is a movie about Zohan (Adam Sadler) - an Israeli superman (??) who is tired of war. To pursue his real dream of being a hairstylist, he fakes his death & moves to America.. But the seeds of the war (The Phanthom - played by John Turturro) he left behind are there waiting for him..

This movie was so funny, I couldn't stop laughing.. It was the kind of humor that you only discuss with your close friends, not with any one else..

The supporting cast was great too - especially Rob Schneider (an old rival of Zohan, who played as a Palestinian cab driver in New York) & Emmanuelle Chriqui (playing the Palestinian girl who ran the salon)..
 

You may find some negativity on the basis of politics & sex..

Lewd humor is thrown at every possible opportunity.. Yes, this movie gets a bit vulgar at times.. In particular, Zohan's sexual attempts with much elder woman would be disgusting for viewers..
So what ? - All those vulgar & non-sense stuffs are only meant to make the viewers laugh & yes it works too (atleast for me).. I can confidently say i was thoroughly entertained.. I laughed the entire way through..

If you are Adam Sandler’s fan – Don’t miss this Zohan..  

Disclaimer about Movie:
Many jokes in the movie were crude and exploited sexuality in a way that I have not seen before.. 

Related Link:

You Don't Mess with the Zohan @ IMDB 

Trailer:

Cheers!!

Rescue Dawn (2006)

Christian Bale is one such versatile actor in Hollywood, who i always love to watch in big screens.. I got impressed & started liking him after seeing his performances on 3:10 to Yuma, American Psycho, The Machinist, & The Prestige.. 
I don't want to include Dark knight in my series, Because it is Heath Ledger who stole the entire show.. Why on earth Heath passed away so early?? :-(

Please Watch "The Machinist" if you get a chance.. Its a kind of art film drama - in which Christian Bale starved himself for this role to loose much weight so as to appear like a guilty person who hasn't slept for almost one year.. Oh man! You can see even his bones projected out his gaunt body..

What you guessed is correct..
Yes! - He holds the records of most weight lost (28 kgs for "The Machinist") and gained (36 kgs for"Batman Begins") for film roles.. (Source: IMDB)
Do you believe in this transformation??
Trust me - The Machinist & Batman Begins are his back to back movies & he made this transformation possible in a interval of just 7 months..

Lets talk about Rescue Dawn now..
I watched "Rescue Dawn" (directed by Werner Herzog) recently a month ago & thought of writing about it here.. Somehow, I forgot it.. Its based on a true story of an optimistic US Army pilot's ('Dieter Dengler' - played by Christian Bale) epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War..

If you are looking for a nail biting, tension filled, explosion based escape movie - Please excuse..
Rescue Dawn is not such a sort of film.. I wont be surprised if people say this movie is a documentary version of Dengler's escape attempt.. Yes, Its a too realistic movie..

Here the real prison is not the prison camp itself, but the whole jungle.. I am not going to explain how the escape attempt goes.. Just go ahead & watch it.. I am sure you will accept why this movie is tagged as EPIC SURVIVAL..



Here also you can see Christian Bale goes from a cheerful/young flyer to the tortured and starved.. Its not only Christian Bale, but his fellow mates who escapes along with Christian Bale also gave a decent performance.. Jungle locations where this film is pictured is also good. It has some heartwarming moments & some funny moments too by Steve Zahn.. Especially i liked that poop joke :-)

If you enjoy quality films, I highly recommend Rescue Dawn..
Others - Please step away & watch Rambo Series.. :-)

Related Links:
Rescue Dawn @ IMDB
Rescue Dawn the Truth

Trailer:


Cheers!!