Ibnu Asad

Well its been a few years since the first Bean Movie was released, Bean released in 1987 starring Rowan Atkinson and Peter MacNicol was a big hit with all ages, but enough of that let’s move onto Rowan Atkinson’s new comedy: Mr. Bean The Holiday

This new addition to Rowan Atkinson’s movie career is one that will not impress movie comedy lovers. With its short running time and all too often the humour relies on jokes that lack the sophistication of the film’s very best moments and which contributes to an uneven balance.

The story picks up as Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) wins the top prize at a church raffle competition a holiday to the south of France. But as soon as his journey down south begins, many unwitting mishaps happen. From missing his train to being mistaken for a kidnapper. Continue Reading »

Hollywood loves the end of the world. The basic idea of a disease of one sort or another wiping out the human race has been done and re-done so many times it’s almost impossible to keep track of the original use of the concept.

Although if I were asked where this particular concept originated, my money would be on the 1964 Vincent Price film, The Last Man on Earth, based on Richard Matheson’s novella “I am Legend”.

“Legend” was remade in 1971, with sci-fi overtones, as the Charlton Heston vehicle, “The Omega Man”. Now the world finds itself with yet another version, finally titled, “I Am Legend”. This edition features Will Smith as scientist Robert Neville, battling a vampiric plague caused by a cancer cure gone horribly wrong.
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Treasure hunter Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage) is back again in the Jerry Bruckheimer directed film National Treasure: Book of Secrets, sequel to the 2004 film National Treasure. This time Gates, his father Patrick, mother Emily, girlfriend Abigail, and friend Riley set off to find the lost City of gold in order to clear Ben’s great-grandfather’s name as a con-conspirator in the murder of President Abraham Lincoln. The film follows the group as they find clues in places such as London, Paris, and Washington D.C.

As the first installment, Book of Secrets is packed with action and laughs. While there are some unrealistic scenes, the movie in a whole delivers what it was designed to do; provide something the whole family can enjoy. Even though rated PG, the film will give viewers of all ages with an enjoyable cinema experience and leave with a bit of history as well.

This is by no means Nicholas Cage’s best acting, but supporting cast helps make the film what it is. The relationships between Ben’s father (Jon Voight) and mother (Helen Mirren) as well as between Ben and Abigail (Diane Driger) add side-stories to the film and funny guy riley )Justin Botha) provides comedic relief.
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Set in 1765, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is an eccentric adaption of Steven Sondheim’s musical. The dark arts begin when Sweeney Todd (Johny Depp) glides up the Thames, in the dead of the night, camouflaging himself with his pale face against the pale water. As the ship sails under an eerie London Bridge, it becomes quite clear that Tim Burton was born to direct this film. With many morbid yet humorous productions under his belt, such as The Nightmare before Christmas, The Corpse Bride and Beetlejuice, who else should take on Sweeney Todd but Tim Burton himself?

The masterpiece unfolds like a ‘Grimm’ tale. Sweeney Todd returns to London after 15 years of torture. Eyes dead, voice silent, his painful life story emerges through haunted, hollow songs and expressive off-key melodies, uncovering his intent to murder the man who condemned him and his family, to a life of sadistic suffering. Wearing his past like the sentimental shield, encapsulating his soul from the rest of the world, Todd finds himself back at Fennel Street above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie shop, where he and his family once lived their over-joyous lives, unaware of the evil events to come.
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There was a survey once. A thousand people were asked, if they could know in advance, would they want to know the exact day of their death. Ninety six percent of them said “No”. I always leaned towards the other four percent. I thought it would be liberating, knowing how much time you had left to work with. It turns out, it’s not.

The words of a dying cancer patient, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), in one of the best films lined up for 2008. “The Bucket List”, directed by Rob Reiner, follows the final days of Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), both of whom share a room in the Cancer Ward of Edward’s Hospital.

“The Bucket List” is a fantastic film about friendship, faith and determination to fulfill life’s greatest potential, following the superb duo across a list of events that would entertain any audience. Filled with dark humor, Reiner manages to portray the image of a self-centered billionaire and a blisteringly clever auto-mechanic very well. Freeman and Nicholson are both able to handle their parts with ease and it’s a wonder why they weren’t teamed up before. Freeman plays the dignified role, as always, of carter, the auto-mechanic with a lovely wife, and well-educated children, who finds out he has cancer, while on the job. Nicholson, still with his bad-man attitude, certainly finishes the job of portraying Edward as the billionaire who builds his business from the age of sixteen, self-taught to care for only himself. Upon meeting, Edward demands his own room, as the hospital owner, but is forced to settle into sharing a room with Carter, tho his greatest dislike.
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