Who is Clark Rockefeller? Review

Article first published as Who is Clarke Rockefeller? Review on Technorati.

Movie: Who is Clarke Rockefeller?

Cast: Eric McCormack, Sherry Stringfield

Rating: 3/5

Based on a true story, Who is Clarke Rockefeller? follows the longest running con in FBI history. Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, the man that people knew as "Clark Rockefeller" brilliantly impersonated numerous people, ranging from a talk show host to a Pentagon Advisor before ultimately claiming to be the heir to the famous Rockefeller family.

The film is a story of the woman who married Christian Karl, thinking that he was the famous Clarke Rockefeller and bore a daughter from him during the 12 years that the couple stayed in the bond. The extent of conman-ship of which Christian was capable is evident from the fact that his wife didn't know his social security number, had never met his family and had never questioned his overly private life for twelve years. On top of this she earned while he enjoyed a royal lifestyle! The film follows the events that led Christian Karl/Clarke Rockefeller to kidnap his own daughter and then to the day he was caught.

While nothing exceptionally award-worthy, the cast has acted to the script. McCormack as Clarke was a disappointment as a slightly bigger and better actor could have taken the amazing storyline to a new level.

Who is Clark Rockefeller? is a different kind of film and hence deserves a watch. The fact that the story is true makes it more interesting. Truth is stranger than fiction more times than not!

Buried (2010) Review

Article first published as Review: Buried (2010) on Technorati.

Movie: Buried (2010)

Cast: Ryan Reynolds
Rating: 4/5

A man trapped in a coffin underneath the sand somewhere in Iraq is what Buried is about. Its novelty lies in the fact that it only shows a man inside a coffin and nothing else. The man is played by Ryan Reynolds who has acted extremely well in the solo performance. The rest of the characters are voices on a cell phone.

The movie deals with the emotions and memories that go through a person's mind when death is only a matter of time. The film shows the true nature of life in that it is unpredictable and can end instantly. It points out the importance of things we take for granted like light, water and air.

Ryan Reynolds has portrayed misery, hope, courage and patience and the lack of it in one performance he can be really proud of. While the thought of seeing a rough man in a coffin for two hours can make many run away from investing time in it (a half dressed woman in the same predicament would raise some interest), Buried is really gripping. The treatment of the film is very original and the pun at how we are becoming more "organized" and less "sensitive" by the minute is well executed.

The dialogue, the key in such a movie, is very well-written and delivered and makes the audience associate with the pain and hope of the sole character.

I'll leave the end to dawn upon you in the way it is supposed to and will not discuss it. I feel the film has substance and class and recommend it strongly!

The King's Speech Review

Article first published as Review: The King's Speech (2010) on Technorati.

Movie: The King's Speech

Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

Rating: 4.5/5

Awards: Colin Firth (Best Actor, Golden Globes)

Colin Firth simply mesmerizes the audience with his supreme acting in the historical saga The King's Speech. The film revolves around changes in expectations from a king brought about by the invention of a radio. It is a story of a prince who is loyal to his father, George V, and his elder brother, the king's successor.

Prince Albert, played by Colin Firth, has a speech impediment causing him to stammer. In an age where radio has just been invented, royalty has an extended duty of communicating with the people, a task impossible for Albert.

He meets a therapist named Lionel played by Geoffrey Rush and is unsure of his ability to help. With the king's demise and his elder brother's refusal to take the throne under astonishing circumstances, Albert becomes the king!

The King's Speech is about the speech of a king in a time of war. It is about a stammerer's most important words that could mean the difference between the rise and fall of an empire. It is about a therapist who had no credentials but was confident that a man who couldn't talk could be a king and could deliver a reassuring speech to a country terrified by Hitler.

The acting is amazing. Colin Firth is outstanding and gives a great portrayal of a man who exerts control over everyone and everything in England barring his own tongue. Geoffrey Rush is outstanding with Lionel the actor/therapist who is adamant about making "Berty" (Prince Albert) a king who could deliver a speech.

All in all, anything more would be a spoiler as the film is a must-see and can only be enjoyed if interpreted by an individual in his own perspective. To me it is a masterpiece and deserves glory at the Oscars!

The Tortured (2010) - A Review

Article first published as Review: The Tortured (2010) on Technorati.



Movie: The Tortured (2010)
Cast: Erika Christensen, Jesse Metcalfe, Bill Lippincott

Rating: 4/5


From the makers of the famous SAW series comes a nerve wrecking, gut wrenching thriller that takes vengeance and pain to the next level. When one almost thought that pain and gore could go no further than what John Cramer or the Jigsaw did to people, The Tortured comes with a situation that can make people go just a step further and be just a step more painful and disgusting!

Twisted Pictures has more recently gone towards amalgamating social issues with pain, gore and vengeance, a formula that gave a new life to the sinking SAW franchise. With Saw 6 a success, they have come up with another film that revolves around a couple coping up with their child's abduction and murder. They blame each other and finally decide that the only one worthy of blame and punishment was the kidnapper and murderer. They steal him from the prison and hold him in the basement of an old house to torture him to death, a death so painful that it would satisfy their souls!

The rest is a gore-filled emotional journey that is not for the weak hearted. It worked for me though, because I am a fan of such films but for others it might be a little too much.

All in all, The Tortured is a good film with a strong story and a great message. The end is a masterpiece and takes the film to a whole new level! Do watch it, but don't eat too much before you do it!