Movies

Bourne Ultimatum was released in the US today. Just came back after watching the movie. Loved it. I had been waiting for this movie for about 2 or 3 months now. If you have seen Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy and enjoyed those movies, and you love action movies, this movie will not disappoint you. Action – oh yeah, you will get a lot of it :). However, be prepared for some shaky camera movement. Overall, a must-see movie. Absolutely recommended.

Reviews and Links:
– Entertainment Weekly
– Official Website
– Yahoo Movies
– NY Times
– IMDB
– Rotten Tomatoes

Watched “Mission Impossible III” yesterday. It was great. The action scenes were awesome. I do have to admit that I liked the first one the best. I don’t remember much about part two :). If you are in for a nice action movie, then this movie is definitely recommended.

Related Links:
– CNN Review
– Yahoo Movies
– Official Site
Another movie I am looking forward to is “The DaVinci Code” which will be released on May 19th.

Tonight is Oscar Night – the 78th Academy Awards.
Here are my votes 🙂
1. Best Picture: Munich
2. Best Director: Steven Spielberg, “Munich”
3. Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, “Walk the Line”
4. Best Actress: Keira Knightley, “Pride & Prejudice”
5. Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, “Syriana”
6. Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener, “Capote”
I have not seen any of the films except “Munich” and my choices are based on my own views and so they will most probably not match the ones from the Oscar committee. But anyway here they are :).
Update (8:34 PM 3/5/2006): Here is the Winners list which is updated continously.
Update (11:32 PM 3/5/2006): Here is the final list:
1. Best Picture: Crash
2. Best Director: Ang Lee, “Brokeback Mountain”
3. Best Actor: Philip Hoffman, “Capote”
4. Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, “Walk The Line”
5. Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, “Syriana”
6. Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, “The Constant Gardener”

Watched “Firewall” today. Had been wanting to watch it for some time. It stars Harrison Ford. He plays a bank expert who is forced to rob his own bank after his family is taken hostage.

Good Movie. Definitely worth watching. Keeps the suspense till the very end.
On a side note, it amazed me how the storyline is strikingly similar to the recent $44 million Securitas bank robbery in England. Coincidence, anyone?

Watched Munich about 2 weeks back. Wanted to but never got a chance to write about it in my blog. Well, better late than never 🙂

It’s a great movie by Spielberg. Definitely worth watching. The story is about a covert Israeli squad assigned to track down and kill the 11 Palestinians suspected to have planned the attack on the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The nice thing I like about the movie is that Spielberg has treated it with justice. He has not taken any sides.
The following excerpt sums from Rober Ebert’s review sums it up well:

Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” is an act of courage and conscience. The director of “Schindler’s List,” the founder of the Shoah Foundation, the most successful and visible Jew in the world of film, has placed himself between Israel and the Palestinians, looked at decades of terrorism and reprisal, and had one of his characters conclude, “There is no peace at the end of this.” Spielberg’s film has been called an attack on the Palestinians and he has been rebuked as “no friend of Israel.” By not taking sides, he has taken both sides.

One of the main stars in the movie is Eric Bana who starred in “The Hulk” and “Troy”.
Related Links:
– Official Site
– CNN Review
– Rober Ebert’s Review
– Wikipedia
– Yahoo! Movies
Poster Credit: Wikipedia

Watched “Batman Begins” today. It was awesome!!! The movie is about how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman and how he saves Gotham city. Liam Neeson is also in the movie. And Katie Holmes plays Batman’s childhood friend and love interest later on.
The main Batman movies are:
[1] Batman (1989) starring Michael Keaton
[2] Batman Returns (1992) starring Michael Keaton
[3] Batman Forever (1995) starring Val Kilmer
[4] Batman and Robin (1997) starring George Clooney
[5] Batman Begins (2005) starring Christian Bale
I have watched all of them except [1].
Unlike the Star Wars movies, “Batman Begins” is not a prequel of the other movies (which I had originally assumed). It is whole new series starting afresh. So, we can expect more Batman movies in the future. And heard that another Batman movie with the Joker (Jack Nicholson played the Joker in the 1989 Batman) is coming up soon.
If you have read a couple of Batman comics and you love action movies, go see this movie. You will definitely love it!
The movie was released in the US on June 15, 2 days earlier than the worldwide release.
Another movie I am eagerly looking forward to is “War of the Worlds” which is releasing on June 29.
Related Links:
– Yahoo Movies
– CNN Review
– IMDB
– Official Site
– Wikipedia

Watched “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” today. It was awesome!
The movie is about how Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side of the Force to become Darth Vader. It was released yesterday at 12 am! CNN reports that the movie grossed a record $50 million in the first 24 hours, the highest box office tally for a single day.
I always thought that the Star Wars movies were in the reverse order. But today, I looked at Wikipedia and found that the order of the movies is 4,5,6,1,2,3. Well, if you consider 4-6 as one block and 1-3 as the other, then it can be said that the movies were released in reverse order: 4-6,1-3.
The films in the Star Wars series are:
1. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (19 May 1999)
2. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (16 May 2002)
3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (19 May 2005)
4. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (25 May 1977) (originally titled Star Wars)
5. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (21 May 1980)
6. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (25 May 1983)
I have watched all 6 except the original Star Wars (1997).
I am also looking forward to watching “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (releasing June 10, 2005) and “Batman Begins” (releasing June 15, 2005).
Related Links:
– Star Wars (Wikipedia)
– Closing the circle of ‘Star Wars’ (CNN)
– Official website
– Yahoo Movies
– IMDB