V for Vendetta

Rating: M18
Running time: 132 minutes
Now out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Some info:
1) Wikipedia
2) IMDB Profile
3) MovieMistakes Profile
4) Official Site (English)

Taking another step back into the past, though it’s not really that long for this one as some of the recent movies I went to pick up. I remember this movie creating a buzz back then and after watching I can understand why.

Apparently there are many themes and finer details in the movie, but I am not so brilliant to be aware of them, especially if it involved some historical event which I am not familiar with, or things that I have not read nor watched/heard. However, the main themes should be pretty obvious to all who have watched this movie and it is presented in a manner that I probably can’t do justice with my linguistic skills if I were to describe it here.

In my personal opinion there is also some literary touch to the dialogue scripted. I’m not sure whether it all came from the original writing or the movie added some of those on their own. Either way, it provides an additional dimension to some parts of the movie. Of course, there would be the ‘memorable introduction’ where V speaks sentences filled with words beginning with V and admittedly some of the words seem really foreign to me. Lol.

It can be a little graphic and violent on some occasions, which I suppose that’s where the restricted rating kicks in, though there are some other issues too. For the most part, I think it is done pretty fitting to the story’s development and mood which is a good thing.

I kind of liked how the ending of the movie does not show a concrete future, but a path towards a free-r future being opened. What exactly happens from there is left to imagination I guess. Overall, the pace is pretty good, the mood was mostly intense with some suspense. Some humour here and there though it isn’t much to ease things for a moment kept me ‘refreshed’ for things to come. A pretty entertaining movie that was produced well. My take: 7/10

Lucky Number Slevin

Rating: R21
Running time: 110 minutes
Now out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Some info:
1) Wikipedia
2) IMDB Profile
3) MovieMistakes Profile

Looks like I picked up another film that is a few years old. It has a pretty good score on IMDB, but the critics at Rotten Tomatoes don’t seem to think that highly of this. I suppose it has something to do with the plot and how the audience see it unfold.

From the opening, I couldn’t really make how it actually links to how Slevin (our main character) is involved in all of the shown events and told story, except it hints that it was just the beginning of things to come. Indeed, how it all pieces together comes at a much later time into the movie, and I am guessing this part is where people will either love it or just find it something to marvel at momentarily.

And the reason why the revelation of everything and piecing the things together could possibly work as something nice is due to how the story is told, with Slevin that seems like a victim drawn into a mess between two rival gangs. He gets slapped with an identity that is not his, and accompanying that are debts that are not his as well and is made to pay by performing a specific task.

But as the movie progresses, it is gradually clearer that things are not as straightforward as they look and indeed there’s a “session” where all the explanations kick in and viewers will be able to see the cause and history behind all these including those shown in the opening, and eventually finding out the relation and meaning of the movie’s title.

There is some amount of violence, quite a lot of blood, some strong language used but I wonder why it received a R21 rating and even a cut here, according to what IMDB tells me. I didn’t feel it was that bad as I am quite certain there are many movies way worse in this department.

In summary, the plot isn’t anything too complex but the presentation and sequence in which things unfold and are told make up for that. The revelations come at a right time when I was wondering how the movie was going to round up and end off nicely. Well-timed. My take: 6.5/10

Limitless

Rating: NC-16
Running time: 105 minutes
Now out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Some info:
1) Wikipedia
2) IMDB Profile
3) MovieMistakes Profile
4) Official Site (English)

In the poster, it says what if a pill could make you rich and powerful. But it doesn’t really make you rich and powerful directly, and you have to take more than 1 pill, since the drug effect has limited time. What the drug really does it to let you tap into the mental potential that normal mortals like all of us are unable, that is to utilise your entire brain.

What it allows the drug user is to be able to organise everything in his/her mind very clearly. Think ahead and faster than anyone else would. Even the slightest thing you’ve seen is stored somewhere deep and dark and with this medication you can retrieve all of these ‘lost’ memories and put them into good use. Things read are also easily absorbed and understood. So of course, with these “powers” becoming rich and powerful is not something too far to reach.

So the movie follows this guy who stumbles upon this during a fateful meeting with his ex-brother-in-law, and not surprisingly is hooked onto the effects (benefits) that it brings, which has certainly helped him quite a bit. The only catch is that the drug is an illegal (unapproved) drug and costs a lot for a jobless person like him. Through yet another fateful incident he managed to get hold of a huge bag of it, and his life just changes from there.

But there’s no free lunch, as we are soon introduced some of the side effects and possible rebound effects of the drug. Essentially, it becomes a double-edged sword but the benefits the drug brings probably far outweighs the possible consequences. After all, it is indeed very, very tempting to be able to live a life that exceeds your current ability and state by so much more. But of course, it depends on what the individual really wants and our main lead here made his.

Overall, the idea is not that out of this world, though the drug seems really rather too good to be true. What I liked about the movie is more of the presentation, and the kind of human desire and greed that comes with this “empowerment”. Not too bad. My take: 6.5/10