The Shining (1980)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 23 May 1980 Genre : Horror Stars : Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers Movie Quality : BRrip Format : MKV Size : 700 MB
A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel's past using a telepathic gift known as "The Shining". The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel's ghosts. After being convinced by a waiter's ghost to "correct" the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is "The Shining".
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Review :
timeless terror
Even though The Shining is over a quarter of a century old, I challenge anyone to not get freaked out by Jack Nicholson's descent into madness. This is a rare example of something so unique that no one has been able to rip it off; instead it has been referenced time and again in pop culture. The twins, the elevator of blood, RedRum, the crazy nonsense "writing"... this should be seen, if for nothing else, to understand all the allusions to it in daily life. The film is simultaneously scary, suspenseful, beautiful, and psychologically intriguing. It has the classic mystery of Hitchcock and the terror of a modern thriller. And it has what horror movies usually lack: a great script.
The Great Dictator (1940)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 7 March 1941 Genre : Comedy, Drama, War Stars : Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner Movie Quality : BRrip Format : MKV Size : 700 MB
Twenty years after the end of WWI in which the nation of Tomainia was on the losing side, Adenoid Hynkel has risen to power as the ruthless dictator of the country. He believes in a pure Aryan state, and the decimation of the Jews. This situation is unknown to a simple Jewish-Tomainian barber who has since been hospitalized the result of a WWI battle. Upon his release, the barber, who had been suffering from memory loss about the war, is shown the new persecuted life of the Jews by many living in the Jewish ghetto, including a washerwoman named Hannah, with whom he begins a relationship. The barber is ultimately spared such persecution by Commander Schultz, who he saved in that WWI battle. The lives of all Jews in Tomainia are eventually spared with a policy shift by Hynkel himself, who is doing so for ulterior motives. But those motives include a want for world domination, starting with the invasion of neighboring Osterlich, which may be threatened by Benzino Napaloni, the dictator ...
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Review :
A politcal satire with an important message
"The Great Dictator" (United Artists, 1940), became the long awaited talking debut of silent film comedian, Charlie Chaplin (who also wrote and directed), in a political satire on Adolph Hitler, only the way Chaplin dared to do at the time. He plays a Jewish barber and Hynkel, dictator of Tomania. Some of the humor cannot really be obsorbed at first glance, but after repeated viewing, it gets better. My personal classic moment occurs with Chaplin in the barber shop working on a bald-headed customer by giving him a shave while listening to a classical composition on the radio, never missing a beat. Co-starring opposite Chaplin for the second and final time is Paulette Goddard as Hannah. Goddard became the only Chaplin leading lady to ever make a success on her own while the others just drifted to "B" movies or faded away. Jack Oakie as Napaloni, the Dictator of Bacteria (a spoof on Mussolini), appears late in the story but shares with Chaplin some of its brilliant comedic moments. Both Chaplin and Oakie earned Academy Award nominations for their performances (Chaplin for Best Actor/Oakie for Best Supporting Actor), but no wins. Henry Daniell as Garbitsch and Reginald Gardiner as Schultz also share the spotlight. Aside from Chaplin's screenplay in poking fun of its then current issues on European invasion by the Nazis, "The Great Dictator" expertly blends satire with dramatic overtones. Its closing scene in which Chaplin makes a speech pleading for all people to follow the path of peace, brotherhood and democracy, is not to be missed. Whether this movie is above or beyond the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup" (Paramount, 1933) is anyone's matter of taste.
Django Unchained (2012)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 25 December 2012 Genre : Western Stars : Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington Movie Quality : HDrip Format : MKV Size : 700 MB
Former dentist, Dr. King Schultz, buys the freedom of a slave, Django, and trains him with the intent to make him his deputy bounty hunter. Instead, he is led to the site of Django's wife who is under the hands of Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner.
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Review :
Tarantino's Best, A Must See
I know claiming "Tarantino's Best" is quite a statement with such films as "Pulp Fiction" and "Inglorious Bastards", however I truly believe it is. Django Unchained is superb from start to finish, it's a 2 hour and 45 minute movie yet you're on the edge of your seat, eyes glued to the screen for the whole ride. It's the closest thing to a flawless movie I have ever seen. Before I continue my praise of this movie, let me say this "the movie is not for everyone." Clearly its rated R and it has several gruesome violent scenes, it also contains vulgar language and numerous uses of the "n" word. Some may claim it's excessive, but I personally appreciate how realistic it portrays the horror and tragedy of slavery. That being said, I am torn if I am more impressed with Tarantino as a writer of this movie or its director. He simply is a cinematic genius. The casting of this movie alone deserves an Oscar. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio all put on Oscar worthy performances, and frankly, I would be astonished if they all did not win. I truly can't picture any actor on this planet being able to play any of those three roles as magnificently as these three actors did. I sum this movie into three general thirds, First: where Waltz steals the show, Second: where DiCaprio steals the show, and Third: where Foxx steals the show. I have only seen Waltz in "Inglorious Bastards" other than "Django Unchained" and he is rapidly climbing my favorite actors list. Leo is my personal favorite actor ever since his performance in "The Departed" and it was incredible to see him take on the challenging role as his first villain, Calvin Candie, possibly the most evil character I've ever seen in a film. Finally Jamie Foxx from start to finish played his best performance in any movie to date. Simply phenomenal. I loved how the audience sees his character evolve from a powerless slave to a confident powerful man. In addition to these three remarkable performances, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson also deliver. Washington goes through living hell yet remains a strong woman throughout. Jackson plays a very interesting role as Stephen, Leo's loyal house slave. Trust me, you will hate him yet at the same time he is hilarious. Now's a good time to mention, this movie is funny! Tarantino perfectly tosses in frequent bursts of pure laughter throughout the movie to lighten up from the serious aspects of the movie. There is one scene in particular, involving Jonah Hill and Don Johnson, which had the crowd roaring in laughter for a solid full minute. Which brings me to my next point, the cast is absurd! The rather small roles for such big actors such as Jonah Hill and Don Johnson, just shows how honored actors are taking any role no matter how small for a Quentin Tarantino film. I recognized famous actors and actresses throughout the entire movie. There is one brief scene, where I believe I even saw famous rapper "Childish Gambino" for literally just a few seconds as a slave in Mississippi. This movie was done perfectly to a tee; even the remarkable soundtrack caught my attention, nicely combining songs of the past with modern day songs. This movie is a western, a drama, a tragedy, a comedy, an action, a thriller, and at it's deepest roots a romance. If you haven't already, stop what you're doing and see this movie today. Whatever you're doing can wait but this movie can't. Just make sure your 17, have your license, and have a stomach for more of the most gruesome violence I have yet to see on a screen. In conclusion, I've heard rumors of Tarantino pondering the idea of retiring as a director and Oo what a sad day that would be for movie lovers like myself, but if they are true at least he's going out with one hell of a BANG!
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)iMDB Rating: 8.6 Date Released : 20 July 2012 Genre : Action, Crime, Thriller Stars : Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman Movie Quality : HDrip Format : MKV Size : 870 MB
Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in which he took the rap for Dent's crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with Bane's plans to destroy the city.
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Review :
A Nutshell Review: The Dark Knight Rises
There are plenty of elements that made this film work, so I suppose we can tick them off one by one. For starters, the continuation on the focus of Bruce Wayne's story, which has made it all tick. This version of Bruce Wayne and Alfred become the familiar characters we're accustomed with since 2005, and the film invests heavily on the emotional bonding between the two, which deals back to the theme about fear that rears its ugly head again, and how a father figure cannot stand idly by to watch the one he brought up recklessly charge into battle after a long hiatus, and hoping for a life of normalcy with the mantle of the bat given up. Michael Caine may have a shorter screen time than before, but no less powerful.
When Sam Raimi had to put the popular and powerful Venom into Spider-man 3 pretty much against his wishes, we all knew how that turned out to be, effectively killing off the franchise until the decision to reboot it. There may be some similar fears with the introduction of a fairly contemporary villain in Bane, but the story gave him more purpose and meaning, and Tom Hardy was excellent par none in this role as the compete villain - with plenty of brawn, merciless, masterful, and with a plan any terrorist would be proud of. If the Scarecrow meant to induce fear, and the Joker to create chaos, Bane is carnage incarnate. Tom Hardy, even being the requisite mask, is fearful, and while the designs of his plan may dwarf the Joker's in complexity, it sure rivaled his in terms of delivery, and execution. Anyone in his path gets shoved aside with deadly consequences, and anyone alive is only because there is of further use. No hesitation, and no compromise.
And Nolan continues with the introduction of a lot more villains big and small, behind a mask or otherwise, in his Bat films than anyone would credit him for, especially when having those whose lines are blurred, or corrupt to the core and hiding behind social status and fortune. This in turn provides for another arc that boils underneath the main narrative, where the rich and powerful continue to enjoy their successes at the expense of the have-nots, and the Occupy Movement in a way being a very real parallel to the proceedings on screen. While the mobsters were clearly at the top of the food chain in the earlier Nolan films, this one shifted focus to politicians and the elite community, with their fair share of scandals and corporate greed.
While Bane was to the point, Selina Kyle played by Anne Hathaway, is both sensual and a force to be reckoned with herself, being like how she's best portrayed, on the fence. There's a bit of Frank Miller's Year One in this one given the presence of Juno Temple's Holly, and the back to basics as a jewel thief, compared to the mousy secretary in Tim Burton's Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer defining the role, and the garbage that was Halle Berry's. Anne Hathaway nailed this one with what would be a truly memorable outing, and as if a homage of sorts to Burton's second Batman film, that the repartee between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle at a party became one of the highlights here, as does her thievery and combat ability. She may lack her whip, but more than makes up for it with her steel stiletto heels, and the very sensual and sleekly designed feline moves that you'd wonder how they got delivered while wrapped under that skin tight suit.
And not only is the technology put on screen fictionally impressive, the technical aspects behind the scenes also worked wonders, chalking up serious mileage in having more than an hour's worth of footage shot on the IMAX format. Wally Pfister's cinematography continues to impress with that staying consistent to the gritty look and feel developed for all the Bat films to date, before his departure into a film director's role for his next project. Hans Zimmer also probably developed the best score for Nolan's Bat films, and I dare say without which this film would be less stellar, with the score playing a huge role in adding plenty of character and emotion to the film, lifting it up with excitement during the many set action pieces, with recognizable themes assigned to major players, heightening dangers, and providing a boost to the many feelings in this one heck of an action-adventure.
With how things developed at the end, and what I felt was initial horror of sorts with Batman out in broad daylight, secret identity being porous and all, this film ended in what would be the best way possible - with possibilities, and a twinkle of an eye, Inception style with a did it, or did it not. Twists, turns, surprises and sleight of hand, making it a clear favourite as one of the best this year. Do yourself a favour and watch it in the IMAX format, just as it was intended.
Because you have just got to believe in Christopher Nolan, and the kind of films he has so far delivered. Take a bow, bat-crew, for a trilogy that has now set the bar for any comic book film, and especially any other follow Batman movie, reboot or otherwise, to live up to.
Alien (1979)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 22 June 1979 Genre : Horror, Sci-Fi Stars : Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright Movie Quality : HDrip Format : MKV Size : 870 MB
A commercial crew aboard the deep space towing vessel, Nostromo is on its way home when they pick an SOS warning from a distant planet. What they don't know is that the SOS warning is not like any other ordinary warning call. Picking up the signal, the crew realize that they are not alone on the spaceship when a alien stowaway is on the cargo ship.
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Review :
A horror classic that has stood the test of time! Still by far the best movie in the series.
'Alien' while technically science fiction is also one of the greatest horror/suspense movies ever made. Ridley Scott is now one of the most well known and successful directors in Hollywood, but I don't think anything he's made in the last ten years is a patch on this perfect film, which is a near masterpiece in my opinion. In fact, on reflection there are only three Scott movies I genuinely like, those being his first three. The last of these 'Blade Runner' was released twenty years ago now, so to me Scott is long past his use by date. Whatever, 'Alien' itself is a brilliant piece of work, and is almost flawless. Scott's direction is superb and everything else about it is outstanding - a strong script from Dan O'Bannon et al, an evocative score from Jerry Goldsmith, brilliant design and special effects, including the amazing contributions from H.R.Giger, all add up to an amazing movie experience. I also really liked how the cast were character actors and not "stars" so there was plenty of suspense generated as to who will live and who will die. This is something very few subsequent movies have done, 'Pitch Black' being one of the exceptions. Sigourney Weaver may be an icon as Ripley now, but when the movie was first released she was virtually unknown, having had a small cameo in Woody Allen's 'Annie Hall' and not much else. The rest of the cast are equally as good. I especially enjoyed Yaphet Kotto ('Blue Collar') and the legendary Harry Dean Stanton ('Wise Blood') as the wise cracking "below deck" crew. Many people seem to prefer James Cameron's sequel 'Aliens' over this, but as I much prefer horror and suspense movies to action ones I think this is definitely the better movie, and still the strongest and most effective in the series. 'Alien' is a horror classic and an absolutely unforgettable movie that I can't recommend highly enough. If you haven't seen it before watch it immediately!
Back to the Future (1985)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 3 July 1985 Genre : Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Stars : Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover Movie Quality : HDrip Format : MKV Size : 870 MB
Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine" invented by slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love - so he can get back to the future.
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Review :
Gotta get back in time! Get back Marty!
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) **** Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Marc McClure, Wendy Jo Sperber. This generation's "It's a Wonderful Life"? Think about it. Very popular and very entertaining sci-fi comedy that made Fox a movie star after success with tv's "Family Ties", casting him, after Eric Stoltz was dropped, as Marty McFly who winds up in a nuclear-powered DeLorean time-machine and is sent back in time to 1955 by his quintessentially eccentric friend Dr. Emmet Brown (Lloyd doing a fine Art Carney). There he meets up with his parents to be and realizes his chance encounters have changed his future and he must see history repeat itself or perish. High-concept hilarity and some truly ingenious schematics thanks to screenwriter Bob Gale and director Bob Zemeckis. Wondering what it would be like to never be born and/or what it would be like if things were different...see what I mean. Oscar-nominated song "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis (who has a fun cameo) fuels this dynamo gem of a film. Classic.
Gladiator (2000)iMDB Rating: 8.5 Date Released : 5 May 2000 Genre : Action, Drama Stars : Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed Movie Quality : BRrip Format : MKV Size : 700 MB
Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.
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Review :
Special effects and powerful acting make Gladiator an epic.
I borrowed this movie on DVD, but I wish I had seen it in the theater for it would have been a lot more fun and powerful there. Despite this, Gladiator is one of the most powerful and moving films I've ever seen. The plot goes so smooth together, as well as the acting and the terrific musical score. Director Ridley Scott puts all effort into making this film an epic, and he does just that. I'd have to say that anyone who likes Ridley Scott (I sure do) should see this. It is a lot like Ridley's other movies (Black Hawk Down was also amazing). If you can stand a little bit--well, ok a LOT of blood and gore, then you should see this. Russell Crowe shows an excellent performance like no other. I don't think there's one bad movie that Ridley Scott has made or that Russell Crowe has acted in. The fact that the brutal battles involving innocent slaves in this film actually happened in real life centuries ago makes it even more interesting and powerful. Emperor Commodus is a truely evil and life-like villian who shows a lot of his wits in attempts to get his revenge against Maximus.
Ridley Scott went to many different locations to shoot this film to make it real, and he does. The film is set in Rome, and it looks just like it. You feel as if you are there in the crowd, hearing them cheer and cheer to see the death. To some of you, this may sound a little barbaric, and believe me the film is VERY barbaric and brutual, however it teaches a very strong lesson of what happens when an economy turns as violent as Rome was. Ridley Scott goes to many lengths to make this movie real, because even though the characters are fictitious, all of this really did happen. Innocent people had to go through brutual fighting while thousands of people cheered for either their death or the enemy's death. If you were an inexperienced fighter, chances are you would get killed. But the strange thing is that Rome LOVED this. People came from all over to see these fights and to see the blood that was shed, that is why you can't blame the characters in this film for being so forlorn and saddened the whole time. The film itself is very dark. The theme is dark and the ending is dark. From beginning to end there is excessive violence (for those action movie-goers, this is a movie for you). But if the violence is concerning you, don't let it. The special effects make the movie great, but it's the acting and storyline that make it spectacular. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED for anyone who wants a good time. Definitely makes you think. ***** out of *****.