The Tide Keeps Rising

In the world of teen myth, Narnia gives Harry Potter and the wizards a run for their money, with many others in their wake. In the world of superheroes, any of Spiderman, Iron Man, The Dark Knight and a dozen others have their own cult followings. And while Pixar redefines animation, the likes of Nickelodeon are not far behind. In the world of pirates and treasure hunts, however, Jack Sparrow reigns supreme. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides while being a fourth installment will do nothing to distract. The plot is simple – a search for the Fountain of Youth – with the face-off of two great pirate egos –Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Blackbeard (Ian Mc Shane). The movie also introduces Angelica (Penelope Cruz) as Jack Sparrow’s love interest, to the mix. A clean-cut adventure with the usual feisty fight scenes and Jack Sparrow’s comic turns, Pirates' fourth coming is a predictable entertainer, worth your weekend movie outing

13/20

Outside the Company

The demise of the American shipbuilding industry spells the demise of the careers of three men – The Company Men - all long-timers with the $ 11 bn turnover GTX. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), regional head of sales, is perhaps the most affected. More than letting go of what he once considered life’s essentials, it is letting go of one’s pride what hurts Bobby the most. Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) rose from the shop-floor to become one of the seniormost executives of GTX. Pushing 60 and not in the best of health, a fresh job search is likely to be the toughest on him. Gene Mc Clary (Tommy Lee Jones), an ex board member with millions in stock upon severance, has enough going for him to not feel the pinch economically, but has an uncertain future nevertheless. Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner) is doing all that he can to keep the company afloat. With consequences ranging from the tragic to those that promise hope for the future, the movie is a timely one that focuses on the psychological impact of unemployment

13.5/20

Inside the Catastrophe

Matt Damon – yes, the man who slammed Sarah Palin, and went all-out in the search for the truth behind the war on terror in Green Zone (albeit only on celluloid) continues his exposes on the issues that matter, slamming the investment banking fraternity in Inside Job. The opening scene on the economic fall of Iceland is successfully attention-grabbing. The documentary moves on to a five-part series on capitalism gone berserk. While the facts are well-known, the squirming economists with their ill-founded thought leadership on the free markets accompanied by their obvious conflicts of interest, and the lobbyists, and the long line of individuals who refused to be interviewed for the film – are a telltale reminder of what has come to pass as the adverse consequences of deregulation. Collectively, the all-star cast (largely politicians, bankers, academics, and thought leaders) reinforce the rationale behind the title of the film. For those with no time (or patience) for Too Big To Fail (book) or its likes, this is one of the more comprehensive snapshots of the Great Economic Crisis of 2008

15.5/20

Time Stands Still

The smartly up-and-coming Jake Gyllenhaal, as Colter Stevens, has his work cut out shuttling back and forth between an indeterminate living state, and “projection” into the last eight minutes of the existence of a Chicago-bound train. Over successive rounds of moral suation, exhaustion, and growing attachment to one fellow passenger Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan), Colter Stevens is tracking down his quarry – the erstwhile bomber on the train, who currently has larger targets on his mind. However, if Colter Stevens succeeds at this novel form of time-travel detective work, does it mean eventual commercialization of the technology behind Source Code, or an ending that would be closer to the audience’s heart? The movie adds nothing extraordinary or illuminating to the sci-fi genre, but is well-executed and quite a watch. In the meantime, Jake Gyllenhaal awaits his train to the next level in Hollywood to fully exploit his rather obvious thespian talent

14.5/20

Honor among Wolves

The ruthless salesmen of Morgan Brothers, led by Baker (Colin Egglesfield), have a newbie in their midst – Daniel Seaver (Brian Greenberg), an ex military man, a self-confessed introvert, and an incongruous reader of Dickens and Tolstoy in the world of cut-throat investment banking. But, in a world where “everybody has an angle”, it is not easy to figure out who, if anyone, is The Good Guy. While Baker’s latest girlfriend Beth (Alexis Biedel) clearly has a growing fondness for Daniel, there is much more to the lives of some of the protagonists than meets the eye. A reasonably exciting drama, which I particularly liked because of the fairly accurate descriptions of investment bankers, and their psyche

12.5/20