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‘Illmatic’ (1994): Review

Producer: DJ Premier, Large Professor, L.E.S., MC Serch, Pete Rock, Q-Tip Length: 39:51 One of my lifelong pastimes has been the sport of bitch-slapping ignoramuses who attempt to reduce the art form of hip hop down to, “It’s just a bunch of fast talking over a beat.” A long time ago, I transitioned from being angered or … Continue reading

‘Devdas’ (2002): Sanjay Bhansali’s Stylish Masterpiece

Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali || Produced by: Bharat Shah Written by: Prakash Kapadia || Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Kirron Kher, Dina Pathak, Milind Gunaji, Smita Jaykar, Vijayendra Ghatge, Tiku Talsania Music by: Ismail Darbar || Cinematography by: Binod Pradhan || Editing by: Bela Sehgal || Country: India || Language: Hindi … Continue reading

‘Lagaan’ (2001): Who Likes Cricket and the Color Yellow?

Directed by: Ashutosh Gowariker || Produced by: Aamir Khan, Mansoor Khan Screenplay by: Ashutosh Gowariker, Abbas Tyrewala, Sanjay Daima || Starring: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Rajesh Vivek Music by: A.R. Rahman || Cinematography: Anil Mehta || Editing by: Ballu Saluja || Country: India || Language: Hindi Running Time: 214 minutes The uber-patriotic, … Continue reading

‘Battle Royale’ (2000): The Movie Everyone Compares to ‘The Hunger Games’ (2012-2015)

Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku || Produced by: Masao Sato, Masumi Okada, Teruo Kamaya, Tetsu Kayama Screenplay by: Kenta Fukasaku || Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Takeshi Kitano Music by: Masamichi Amano || Cinematography: Katsumi Yanagishima || Editing by: Hirohide Abe || Country: Japan || Language: Japanese Running Time: … Continue reading

‘Save the Green Planet!’ (2003): More Genres than You Can Shake a Stick At

Directed by: Jang Joon-hwan || Produced by: Sidus Pictures Screenplay by: Jang Joon-hwan || Starring: Shin Ha-kyun, Baek Yoon-sik, Hwang Jeong-min, Lee Jae-yong, Lee Ju-hyeon, Gi Ju-bong Music by: Lee Dong-jun || Cinematography: Hong Kyung-pyo || Editing by: Park Gok-ji || Country: South Korea || Language: Korean Running Time: 118 minutes One must emphasize the exclamation … Continue reading

‘The Man from Nowhere’ (2010): A Great Introduction to Korean Action

Directed by: Lee Jeong-beom || Produced by: Lee Tae-heon Screenplay by: Lee Jeong-beom || Starring: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Hee-won, Kim Sung-oh, Kim Tae-hoon Music by: Shim Hyun-jeong || Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon || Editing by: Kim Sang-beom || Country: South Korea || Language: Korean Running Time: 119 minutes Though modern Korean cinema is most renowned … Continue reading

‘The Expendables 2’ (2012): Stallone Jumps the Shark

Directed by: Simon West || Produced by: Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Les Weldon Screenplay by: Richard Wenk, Sylvester Stallone || Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger Music by: Brian Tyler || Cinematography: Shelly Johnson || … Continue reading

‘Les Misérables’ (2012): More Musical than You Can Handle

Directed by: Tom Hooper || Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh Written by: William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer || Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen Music by: Claude-Michel Schonberg || Cinematography by: Danny Cohen || Editing by: … Continue reading

‘Argo’ (2012): Ben Affleck’s 3-Peat

Directed by: Ben Affleck || Produced by: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney Written by: Chris Terrio || Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler Music by: Alexandre Desplat || Cinematography by: Rodrigo Prieto || Editing by: Willam Goldenberg || Country: United States || Language: English, Persian Running Time: 120 minutes … Continue reading