The Whole Nine Yards (2000)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A struggling dentist’s life is turned upside down when a contract killer moves in as his new neighbour.
2) Rosanna Arquette as Oz’s wife who is hiring random people to kill her husband.

 

 

CONS –
1) Matthew Perry as Dr. Oz is the weakest link in this movie. His performance is annoying. He was supposed to replicate the charm of Billy Crystal from Analyze This (1999).
2) Bruce Willis is sidelined in a supporting role.

 

 

QUOTE –
Jimmy: It’s not important how many people I’ve killed. What’s important is how I get along with the people who are still alive.

“The Outside” (Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities Ep. 04)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 1/5

Metal Skin Panic MADOX- 01 (1987)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/4

 

 

PROS –
1) An ordinary mechanic comes across the MADOX-01, a heavy powered armor suit designed to fight enemy tanks. After getting trapped in the suit before reading the user’s manual, the military attempts to reclaim it, leaving him with no choice but to defend himself.

 

 

CONS –
1) A one time watch robo-action anime.

 

 

QUOTE –
“Both you and the MADOX are completely nuts! I’M OUTTA HERE!”

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A gay couple vacationing at a remote cabin with their foster daughter is suddenly held hostage by four strangers, who demand they sacrifice one of their own to avert the apocalypse.

 

 

CONS –
1) Pretty mediocre story that is gripping only for the first 25 minutes.

 

 

QUOTE –
“Leonard: All of humanity has been judged.”

Ghulami (1985)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A Bollywood potboiler exploring evils of caste system in Rajasthan.
2) “Zeehale Muskin Makun ba-Ranjish” – Lata at her best!
3) Outstanding cast.

 

 

CONS –
1) Bad screenplay. There are intense scenes where the actors are giving their 100%, but the director failed to capture it correctly.
2) The ominous tragic end.
3) The story with the caste-angle eventually ended like Mother India (1957), Gunga Jumna (1961).

 

 

QUOTE –
Javar: koi shaq?

Horror of Dracula (1958)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 

 

PROS –
1) In 1885, Jonathan Harker arrives at the castle of Count Dracula to take up his post as librarian. But actually, he is a vampire hunter and has come to kill Dracula. He managed to kill one of Dracula’s wife/prisoner but ends up getting bitten and killed by Dracula. In search of a new vampire bride, Dracula comes face to face with Doctor Van Helsing.
2) Christopher Lee as Count Dracula – As iconic as it can get. Very few spoken dialogues.
3) Story tweaked correctly for the movie adaptation. Jonathan Harker being a vampire hunter is a shocking twist.
4) Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing is equally magnificent.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Doctor Van Helsing: I’m sorry, Mr. Holmwood, but I really cannot tell you anything more about how he died.
Arthur: Cannot or will not?
Doctor Van Helsing: Whichever you wish.

Infinity Pool (2023)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A couple on vacation at a resort in a weird country find themselves in trouble when the husband accidentally runs over a local man and the penalty for his crime is death at the hand of the dead man’s firstborn son. As per the law, the criminal is either executed, or, if he’s rich enough to afford it, he can get his clone executed and watch himself killed instead.
2) Brandon Cronenberg’s direction will keep the audiences in their seats.
3) Mia Goth as Gabi Bauer took the spotlight as the heartless bitch.

 

 

CONS –
1) The movie left the sci-fi plot unanswered.
2) The climactic scene where the central character sits alone amidst the downpour will left audiences befuddled with an unfulfilled story.

 

 

QUOTE –
Dr. Bob Modan: Do you worry they got the wrong man? Do you think, I mean, looking back on it, they killed the real James? That was my biggest fear after my own experience. Because you wake up in that little room, and for all you know, they could’ve just swapped you out.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 0/5

 

 

PROS –
1) The story moves ahead of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) where the audiences are informed that 3 years after the events of Terminator 2, John Connor was killed by another Arnold-faced-Terminator (T-800) in front of Sarah Connor. Now in 2020, an advanced Terminator, called Rev-9 is sent from 2042 to kill a woman called Dani who is the future leader of the resistance.

 

 

CONS –
1) Another dumb Terminator movie. Though it is a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), ignoring the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009) and Terminator Genisys (2015), the movie have nothing new to offer.
2) Adding the surprising plot of the death of John Connor in the new canon is like stabbing the fan in the back.
3) The supposed central character of the future sequels Natalia Reyes as Dani Ramos, is a mediocre actress.

 

 

QUOTE –
Sarah Connor: I don’t have a photograph of John. I never took any. I thought that… they couldn’t find him… if they didn’t know what he looked like. But now I’m forgetting his face.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) James Bond goes to the Swiss Alps (in disguise) to track down Ernst Stavro Blofeld who is trying to claim the title Count Balthazar de Bleuchamp. At the same time, Blofeld is plotting a bacteriological warfare age with the help of 12 “angels of death”.
2) The movie is shot extensively in the Swiss Alps which is the movie’s biggest USP.
3) Irvin Allen as Che Che is noteworthy.

 

 

CONS –
1) James Bond in the second half appears clueless. Instead of using his spy-skills. he’s taking help from Draco.
2) The climactic James Bond wedding and Blofeld subsequently killing Bond’s newly-wed bride is equally perplexing.

 

 

QUOTE –
“Draco: spare the rod and spoil the child”

The Mummy (1959)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 4/5

 

 

PROS –
1) Kharis, the high priest of Karnak who secretly loved Princess Ananka and attempted to restore her to life after she died; when he was discovered, his tongue was cut, he was cursed with eternal life and he was mummified alive. In 1898, a devoted worshiper of Karnak using the Scroll of Life resurrects Kharis to punish those who desecrated the tomb.
2) Christopher Lee as Kharis / The Mummy is intimidating even behind the bandages without any dialogue.
3) The gunshots scenes are done masterfully.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
John Banning: Seems I’ve spent the better part of my life amongst the dead.