Entries from Procrastination tagged with 'review'
Farthing
A murder mystery set in an alternate history where Britain made peace with Nazi Germany and the US never entered the war, this is a good, fun novel.
Indiana Jones
We watched the first three movies again before watching the latest Indiana Jones movie and enjoyed all of them.
Iron Man
Iron Man is a decent superhero movie, worth watching, though it's no Spider Man or Batman Begins.
The Departed
It is a Martin Scorsese crime movie. What more can I say to get you to watch it?
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Kid was frightened at some of the fight scenes but was otherwise engrossed in this movie.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I expected to love this movie, but I didn't like it at all.
Old Man's War
This first novel by John Scalzi is a gripping story of a 75 year old who joins the colonial army to help humans colonize space.
National Treasure
This is a treasure hunt movie involving the Declaration of Independence. I rate it 4/10.
The Battle of Algiers
It's a classic and seems strangely poignant these days when we are all reading about insurgencies and counterinsurgency.
Juno
Juno is a high school girl who becomes pregnant. This is a comedy about that and is a fun watch.
Seven
A good crime movie in which the killer is inspired by the seven deadly sins.
Charlie Wilson's War
The movie is fun to watch, but it's the book that's a must read.
There Will Be Blood
This is a good movie set during the oil boom in California in the early 20th century.
The Lives of Others
A great movie about the spying of East German citizens by Stasi.
Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children is an enjoyable, though not great, book.
Life of Brian
Monty Python are great in this comedy about Brian, whose life follows that of Jesus in some ways.
Enchanted
This was our 3 year old's first movie at the theater. So we had to choose something she would like and Enchanted was a good movie.
Aliens
Aliens is a sequel to Alien. Watching these old movies again is fun. Both Alien and Aliens are great but the later sequels not so much.
I Am Legend
The movie starts off good but the ending is not fun at all. The book on which it is based has a much better ending. I rate it 6/10.
When Victims Become Killers
This is an academic book looking in detail at the history of Rwanda and its neighbors and how that led to the 1994 genocide. Despite being difficult to read due to dry writing, I recommend it highly.
Alien
Alien is a good science fiction/horror movie from when I was growing up. It was fun to watch it again.
Pursuit of Happyness
A good movie about a father and a son who survive in homeless shelters while the father is going through a stockbroker internship.
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men is a good movie with a strange, psychopathic villain. I liked it despite the last 15 minutes which felt like an hour or more.
The Third Man
This is a classic thriller set in post-WWII Vienna. Every movie buff should see it.
Rendition
This is a movie about sending a man, suspected to be a terrorist, to another country so that he can be tortured. The practice of extraordinary rendition actually dates from the war on drugs. It's a good movie, worth watching.
An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore and the makers of the documentary do a great job in presenting the global warming issue. Highly recommended as it is about a very important issue of our times.
Taxi Driver
Another classic movie that we watched thanks to DVDs and Netflix. We liked it and rate it 8/10.
Stardust
Stardust is a fantasy movie with romance, drama and a lot of comedy. While not exactly what we expected, I liked it.
خدا کے لئے
شعیب منصور کی فلم خدا کے لئے میں میری کی زبردستی شادی اور حبسِ بےجا نے مجھے سب سے متاثر کیا۔ لالیوڈ کی عام فلموں سے بہت مختلف یہ ایک اچھی فلم ہے اور دیکھنے سے تعلق رکھتی ہے۔
ڈان
کافی عرصے بعد ہم نے بالیوڈ کی کوئی فلم دیکھی۔ یہ نئی ڈان ہے شاہرخ خان والی۔ بالیوڈ کے سٹینڈرڈ کے حساب سے ٹھیک فلم ہے۔
Paths of Glory
An antiwar movie by Stanley Kubrick which shows the utter futility of the trench warfare in World War I, this is a great movie worth watching.
The Bourne Ultimatum
I have liked the Bourne trilogy since I read the books a long time ago. Finally I saw the last movie of the trilogy which, in my opinion, is the best movie of the series.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The fifth movie in the series is shorter and better than the fourth with Voldemort's return and a sombre mood at Hogwarts. The acting in this movie was also better than the earlier ones.
god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens is a good polemicist and it shows in his book. This is not a book presenting research or theological discussion, but it does present forceful arguments against religion and the religious.
Children of Men
It shows a dystopian future where humans have become infertile and then suddenly one woman is pregnant and everyone wants to use that for their own advantage. A good movie overall.
Spin
This is a book about the apocalypse, love, father-son conflict, ecology and the stars going out. Definitely one of the best science fiction novels written in recent times.
M
M is a classic crime thriller about a serial killer who murders children. I recommend it highly.
The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857
This is a great book about Bahadur Shah Zafar, Delhi and the events of 1857. It makes everything come alive. If you are interested in Indian history, it's a must read.
A Mighty Heart
This is a movie about the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002. I rate it 7/10.
Dark Star
This is an interesting novel about espionage and history on the eve of World War II seen from the perspective of a Pravda journalist and spy.
Ed Wood
Ed Wood is a comedic biopic of a really bad movie director. We didn't like it much.
Religion Explained
This is one of the best books I have read. It explains the origins of religious thought based on how our mind works. Highly recommended.
Chinatown
This is a great crime movie, featuring Jack Nicholson and directed by Roman Polanski.
Ocean's Thirteen
This is the third movie in the series. While better than the second, it is predictable and hence not as much fun as the first, Ocean's Eleven. I rate it 5/10.
The Third Chimpanzee
This is a good, though somewhat dated, book about the rise of Homo Sapiens. While eminently readable and full of interesting information, I found the focus on nuclear or environmental holocaust to be a hindrance.
Das Boot
This is a very good and realistic portrayal of a German U-boat in World War II. While I loved the movie, the Director's Cut was a bit long for me. I rate it 8/10.
At Canaan's Edge : America in the King Years, 1965-68
This is the last book on the trilogy about Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement by Taylor Branch. The whole trilogy is a must-read.
Spider-Man 3
Being a fan of Spiderman since my childhood, I have loved the Spiderman series of movies. While I enjoyed Spider-man 3, its plot is a bit week. I rate it 7/10.
V for Vendetta
This is a good movie about a fascist Britain and a terroristic hero. Despite its one-sidedness in favor of the main character V, I liked it very much.
Annie Hall
Annie Hall is a bittersweet romantic comedy with a neurotic Woody Allen. It is a good, fun movie. I rate it 7/10.
300
It is about the Battle of Thermopylae, a famous last stand. However, being based on a graphic novel, it is bad. Very bad. I rate it 2/10.
Rashomon
Rashomon is an interesting, though not great, Japanese movie about the nature of truth and different viewpoints. I rate it 6/10.
Pirates Of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest
Dead Man's Chest is a sequel and like a lot of sequels is worse than the original. I rate it 4/10.
For a Few Dollars More
This is the last movie of the Dollars Trilogy that we saw. Like the other two, this one is also very good. I rate it 8/10.
X-Men - The Last Stand
This is the 3rd movie in the X-Men trilogy. Mutants face a new threat in the form of a cure for their mutations. Then there is also the Dark Phoenix. It's a good movie and I rate it 7/10.
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is part of the Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood in the lead role. It is a Classic and definitely worth watching. I rate it 8/10.
Borat
Borat is a comedy which includes all sorts of crass humor. It's good and funny if you enjoy such jokes. I liked it and rate it 7/10.
Before the Dawn
This is a good book by Nick Wade which covers human prehistory as seen mostly from the study of genetics.
Casino Royale
I am a big fan of James Bond and have seen most of the 007 movies. Casino Royale features a new Bond actor and is different than recent Bond fare. I rate it 7/10.
The Fountain
We watched The Fountain in the theater on our anniversary. It is a good movie about eternal life, love and death. I rate it 8/10.
The Syrian Bride
This is a good movie about a marriage across the ceasefire line between Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and Syria. Family estrangement, conservatism, clash between Israeli and Syrian bureaucratic requirements are all depicted well. I rate the movie 8/10.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
It is a book about magic and magical it is. Quite long but fun to read, Susanna Clarke has come up with a winner for her first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is now a part of the culture. It is a movie about a Colonel gone bad (and mad) in the Vietnam War. Francis Ford Coppola did some great work here. I rate it 8/10.
The First Human
The First Human is a good and readable book about the search for the oldest hominin fossils. It describes the science, the fieldwork as well as the disputes in the field of paleoanthropology.
The Man Who Copied
This is a Brazilian movie about a young guy who trying to impress a girl copies money and gets in trouble. It is a good movie and I rate it 7/10.
Geotagging Photos
Armed with a GPS and a digital camera with a love of hiking, it is time to store the location I take my photos into the images and then show them on a map. I review several software which can do this and present my workflow.
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been made into multiple movies and TV series. This latest version is good, though not as good as the BBC miniseries. I rate it 7/10.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a classic Spaghetti Western. While I enjoyed the movie, the print restoration job wasn't very good and at times it looks washed up. Overall, I rate it 8/10.
