Monsters University (2013) review

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) review

Many consider it the best of the Indiana Jones films, praising the addition of Sean Connery as one of the best casting choices. Many praise the story and action sequences as being superior to the great Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I for one, prefer the first two instalments over the conclusion to such a fantastic trilogy.

Indiana Jones’ father, Henry Jones Sr, goes missing whilst on his life long quest for the Holy Grail. Leaving to Indy, his diary which contains all his research of the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones realizes that the Nazis are once more after the Holy Grail and will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Realizing that immortality is a powerful and corruptive thing that the Nazis cannot get their hands on, Indy goes on a quest to retrieve his father and ensure the Nazis don’t get caught up with Henry’s diary, which has disappeared.

Once more, the story is very powerful and truly entertaining however I didn’t see it surpass the previous two instalments. The addition of Henry Jones is the wisest choice made in this entire franchise. The goofiness and fun he brings cannot truly be described in words. Sean Connery absolutely perfects that role and gives one of the most entertaining performances I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it does take a fair bit of time for his character to truly make an entrance in one of the greatest ways. His immediate reaction to smashing Indy with a bottle followed by proving that the bottle is a fake is timeless comedy. Not just funny, but it is simply able to define his character through his first few minutes. The relationship that builds throughout the film between Indy and Henry is one of the funniest yet most realistic ever in some ways.

Supporting characters include Ilsa, who I didn’t particularly care about in the film. She just wasn’t as memorable as Marion or Willie from the first two instalments and her character was someone that I wasn’t attached to. It is, however a pleasing sight to see Marcus Brody return for a bigger role in this film. He is surely one of the best aspects of this film. He is hilarious, lost and is basically one of us being on this great adventure. The best sequence of the film is one involving a lost Marcus Brody attempting to communicate with locals, but is incredibly lost! This scene was comedic perfection for the film, especially realizing that this followed Indiana Jones telling the Nazis about Brody’s whereabouts! Sallah too returns in the film, in possibly a shorter role than Raiders of the Lost Ark but he too is placed perfectly in the story.

Much like Ilsa, there is another forgettable character and he is the main antagonist, Donovan. Belloq is one of the most memorable villains put to film. He was perfect for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mona Ram was perfect for Temple of Doom however Donovan doesn’t strike out any real threat or motivation with this film. Thankfully, this is laid aside by some fantastic entertainment thanks to Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, who shared such amazing chemistry. Just like the previous two films, the entertainment is sky high and makes this a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy…until 2008 came!

Grade- 9/10

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) review

To this day, I cannot quite put together the criticisms laid to this film. Surely, it isn’t the best Indiana Jones film but it comes so mighty close. One of the best aspects of the film for me, is what is considered the biggest issue of the film which would be the drastic change in tone from a rather light hearted film with dark moments to an extremely dark film, containing light enough moments.

Indiana Jones, following an escape from Lao Che, finds himself crash landing a plane nearby an Indian village. Here, he is told that the children have all but being taken from them to work at Pankot Palace, where evil has once more being brewing. During the kidnapping of all the children, it is said that a sacred stone called the Shankara was taken from their village. Indiana vows to return the Sankara stone back to the village as well as all of their children as he ventures with his young friend, Short Round and the irritating singer, Willie.

Whenever people refer to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, they always list the complaints about the film which truly sickens me. It’s excessive dark content and the irritating Willie. I personally loved both. Willie is most definitely an irritating character and about as irritating as one could get but thankfully, Speilberg and Lucas were well aware of this before hand and as a result, to add some great comedic moments have her character constantly punished. As for the dark content, I can only praise Lucas and Speilberg from taking a completely different view for this film and their bravery to make a prequel to a beloved film be one with a completely different tone. Even with the incredibly dark content, this is most definitely still an Indiana Jones film. It has the same wit, same humour and the brilliant stunt work and action sequences that make this a very, very worthy prequel to the great, Raiders of the Lost Ark. In terms of action, Temple of Doom surpasses Raiders of the Lost Ark however, in terms of the plot and characters, Raiders is clearly superior.

John Williams created a truly memorable musical score with Raiders of the Lost Ark. His iconic soundtrack featured the fantastic score following Marion Ravenwood’s death, which was a very powerful piece of music. In Temple of Doom, he creates an even more powerful and epic musical score featuring the March of the Slave children. This score is such a brilliant piece of work by the legend John Williams, that I happen to prefer it over the score in Raiders.

The underground tunnel chase and the sequence on the bridge is the greatest climax put onto an Indiana Jones film and is one of the most memorable in my opinion. It features brilliant comedy, very gritty and dark stunt work and some incredible action sequences which are just a delight on screen. The parody of the swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark works perfectly as one of the film’s finest comedic moments. 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the most controversial of the franchise but is better than the original in some ways. Even if the film isn’t overall, nearly as perfect as Raiders of the Lost Ark, it is nevertheless a brilliant piece of entertainment and one of master director, Steven Speilberg’s finest films. 

Grade- 10/10

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) review

To put it in simple terms, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest and most revolutionary films ever made and is quite possibly, legendary director Steven Speilberg’s masterpiece which says a lot. 1981 introduced us to who is quite possibly, the greatest movie character ever put to film. To that, I am ever so grateful

Indiana Jones is an archaeologist who goes after rare artefacts as a means to try and return them where they need to be. He finds himself having to go on an adventure to relocate the Lost Ark of the Covanent and take it away before the Nazis, who are looking for it in order to have complete dominion during the ongoing war.

There is the story and there is an unforgettable storyline that every man on the planet knows about. The opening scene in the film, involving Indy, his whip and the search for the Golden Buddha is definitely, one of the greatest introductions ever put to film. The moment you see a long shot of Indiana Jones, you are immediately felt a presence and his entrance into the film with the whip and emerging through the smoke, is to this day, one of the most iconic entrances made by a character. Up there with the one from The Third Man and possibly Darth Vader, in Star Wars. John Williams creates a fantastic opening theme, that is before the action starts taking place, that itself is full of purpose and tension. There is a certain mystery about the character that is felt through the brilliance of that score. The opening scene is so perfect but the most perfect aspect of it is how it added no development to the basic plot of the film but is simply used as a method to get to know various characters and their actions and motivations. We see Belloq through this opening scene and we are immediately given a hint as to who he may be. We are fully exposed to Indiana Jones and we already feel a certain charm about his character and we are already taken in by the atmosphere created by Speilberg and Lucas. 

Much like the original Star Wars trilogy, despite being amazing films, the performances aren’t the strength of those films like in other films such as The Godfather. It is purely in the story, characters and atmosphere created. Whilst the majority of the performances are undoubtedly fantastic, especially those by Harrison Ford, John Rhys Davies and Paul Freeman, the strength to Raiders of the Lost Ark lies solely in the story and character department. The action sequences in this film to this day, are breathtaking. Whilst even my favourite movie, The Lord of the Rings, has a few action sequences where I tend to take my eye off the screen, when watching Raiders of the Lost Ark I feel like Malcolmn McDowell’s character from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ when he is receiving his treatment to emerge a better man to society! They are some of the best put to film and is the pure definition of entertainment. The truck chase sequence towards the end of the film, to this day, is the greatest chase ever shown on film. The John Williams score, once more, adds it to another level and is one of the most iconic pieces of music made. Most iconic scores are made by this legend and all are unforgettable, taking the film to another extent. They dance around to the film, as if they are its own thing yet they fit perfectly with the context of the film and its overall tone.

Speilberg’s direction is absolutely flawless. This is indeed, one of the few ‘perfect’ films I’ve ever come across, a few others being Pulp Fiction, Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather. The story and dialogue is once more, flawless. I cannot praise enough how much I just love this film. Other cast members, especially Karen Allen does a great job as the lovely Marion Ravenwood, who is without a doubt, the best sidekick of a girl that has possibly being put to film. Just like Ford, she brings a real charm to the screen and her presence feels like an adventure of its own. That’s what a brilliant film does!

Raiders of the Lost Ark is quite possibly one of the top ten greatest films ever made. It is absolutely hilarious, action packed, full of tension, a sense of awe and wonder and displays the mythical element of the film flawlessly. To keep it short, Raiders of the Lost Ark can simply be described through the word ‘flawless’ 

Grade- 10/10 all the way!!!

#4- Pulp Fiction (1994) review

Just before the release of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino wasn’t a big name in the movie industry at that time, like directors such as Martin Scorsese. However, following the release of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino emerged as one of cinema’s greatest writers/directors, all thanks to Pulp Fiction even if Reservoir Dogs was his very first film

Pulp Fiction collectively tells the story of two hitmen, a mob boss, a boxer and the mob bosses’ wife living out their lives and naturally being involved with crime. The great thing about Pulp Fiction is the perfect tying in of every single thing that happened in the film whether it be one of Tarantino’s extremely engaging conversations or just a murder, or a simple joke. 

Unlike other crime films such as The Godfather which is so full of heart, Pulp Fiction is an illustration of what life would be like under crime never showing any hints of emotion even when main characters are tortured as is Butch, in one specific scene. Tarantino was aware that his style and approach towards this now crime masterpiece was unique at the time for various reasons, especially the storytelling which is utter Tarantino brilliance.

When a film does not have heart but more so violence and heavy crime, there needs to be endearing characters spread throughout one of these films for us to really engage and immerse ourselves in such a world where crime is life. Thankfully, Tarantino by this stage had completely mastered how to write not only dialogue but his characters who are some of my all time favorites. Samuel L Jackson plays Jules Winnfield, a foul mouthed hit man and a friend of Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. The two share incredible chemistry and are an absolute joy whenever they share a moment of screen time. Thankfully, there’s more than a moment! There’s a whole story and a half with the two, which is how Pulp Fiction is told. It is told throughout various stories taking place in different characters’ lives all of which share some necessity to the end of the film, whether it be Jules executing an innocent Brett or whether it be about Butch receiving advice from Marsellus Wallace. Even though ‘The Bonnie Situation’ is my favourite story, I love all three stories equally which is what Tarantino intended and which is what he succeeds at thankfully. However, ‘The Gold Watch’ segment is more engaging than I remember the last time I viewed this film. It is full of humor and is probably the only story that features any emotion depth in any way, yet the film in every way turns out a piece of legend! 

Every single actor does their part perfectly. Jackson and Travolta are the true stars of this film, figuratively and literally. However, the supporting cast consisting of Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken all do a fantastic job. Even Tarantino himself has a role in the film and whilst this is one of the weaker performances in the film, it still has some great moments. This is where the film truly dominates most of cinema’s films. Not in the story or the acting, or even the direction. But in the dialogue. I am not someone who gets engaged to dialogue to the extent I have in Pulp Fiction, which is quite possibly the most quotable film I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. Tarantino is able to perfectly place everyday conversations into a unique crime film in a way that not only is it entertaining but it develops characters and a story. Most of the characters are completely understood from the dialogue they say. Some of my favourite dialogue ever came from Jackson and some other fantastic lines from Travolta and Willis.

This film is one of the most perfectly paced 150 minute films. To think that by the end of this film, I truly wonder what has happened to time completely tells that when one is able to forget about the duration of a film, they are immersed and that is what I was. I was taken into a world full of crime and violence, so empty of peace and happiness which is simply not where I want to ever be but was able to take myself and accept myself into such a world. Everything about Pulp Fiction is utterly perfect and when you add the incredible entertainment factor and the high re-watchability factor that Pulp Fiction has, then you basically find yourself having a timeless masterpiece that is not only Tarantino’s best but one of the all time greats. 

Grade- 10/10 

Most deserved!!!!  

Superman III (1983) review

Whilst I was initially disappointed watching ‘Superman: The Movie’ mainly in terms of having Lex Luthor as a villain, I fell in love with ‘Superman II’ and I somewhat hoped that ‘Superman III’ could in some ways attempt to resemble and continue a film that had a great story and some brilliant characters. What I got was a complete cash grab, an unintelligently written sloppy mess that provides a terrible story, poor characters, no excitement and tension and relies far too heavily on goofiness in order to pass the time and attempt to match the brilliant comedy of the first two.

Superman III is based around a genius inventor named Gus who is recruited by his boss in many of his evil schemes including one of destroying Superman using Kryptonite whilst Clark Kent leaves for a high school reunion party where he meets a former friend, Lana Lang with whom he has an affair for.

Next to Marlon Brando, Christopher Reeve was always the second best actor of this franchise and once more, delivers a fantastic performance in this film, generally bringing the same wit and charm to his character. Further brilliant acting by Reeve is shown during Superman’s time of being evil whilst under the influence of Kryptonite. His performance is so brilliant that it is the only thing that is truly fantastic about this film. The rest is all either mediocre or downright terrible

John Williams is my favourite composer of all time and Superman is my second favourite movie score of all time and so, his classic Superman theme is such a memorable one that I happen to love so much. The very start of Superman III was completely wrong and I knew I was in for something bad. The way the cheap looking titles crawl in did not resemble the brilliance of the original and the fact that it wasn’t the classic theme playing was downright frustrating. However, when you do get to hear the classic theme play early on when Superman is trying to save the man drowning in his car (in the most ridiculous fashion), I was relieved but later disappointed considering most of the film has an uninteresting musical score that certainly doesn’t make the Superman films seem that much better.

There were definitely some great Superman moments, particularly early on when he is saving the man from drowning and the short scene in the photograph booth. That was somewhat of a classic Superman moment but the best moment of the film is most definitely when Superman bad is defeated and the bombastic theme song starts playing. This is brilliant for many reasons and not just because of the music but because of the character of Superman and his determination and love for his country. However, when the film is viewed as a whole, the few great Superman moments really fade considering the film heavily relies on overly goofy scenes, especially with Richard Prior’s Gus

Richard Prior’s performance in this film is most definitely not a great one but more so, an annoying one. His character is particularly uninteresting and Richard Lester and crew thought it would be appropriate to shove as much lame and unoriginal comedy to his character as possible to the point that he could never be taken seriously, even when he is afraid that Superman may be killed due to his inventions. Not only is Prior’s performance ineffective but the story given to Gus is completely ridiculous that it betrays the tone of the first two Superman films. 

The worst thing about the film, believe it or not, is not the overuse of comedy which at times seems like a warm welcome when compared to the overall story told in this 2 hour waste of time. Much of the film deals with Gus going to Vulcan Weather Satellite and altering the weather, then building a computer to help rule everything and even steal cheques for himself. The story told in its entirety is more awful than in separate pieces and whilst the Superman story may seem great early on, by the end of the film it most definitely becomes laughable.

The first two Superman films exceeded because they had great characters. Part of the reason of Superman III’s failure is with all the new characters and how old characters are replaced with much worse characters. This is definitely true as Lana takes over Lois, who was a lovely woman to be around. Lex Luthor, Superman’s nemesis is replaced by a man with absurd plans, Webbster. Superman III is full of clichéd new characters that add nothing good to the story.

Whilst Superman: The Movie is a classic and Superman II is a great sequel, Superman III is an utter failure in all aspects suffering from poor writing and directing, overuse of recycled jokes, characters that are NOT endearing, a story that is uninteresting. This brings the film down to a joke which is pretty much the tone of the film, throwing aside the cleverness of the first two and making it a complete comedy film instead of a Superman film. Whilst there were a few Superman like moments, this is soon forgotten under the horrible mess of everything else in this awful picture. 

Grade- 2/10