Tintin’s Back!

When an animated Herge holds up a sketch of the old and familiar Tintin to his new-age avatar, the comparison between two eras of amination could not be more pronounced. First things first. The Adventures of Tintin will be an unadulterated commercial and critical success. This movie leverages off today’s animation capabilities to resurrect an iconic character. The story is a loose adaptation of The Secret of the Unicorn and while much is familiar –including the story of Red Rachkam vs Sir Francis Haddock, there is a lot else that has been introduced or tweaked in the plot including the introduction of much of the unforgettable cast of characters of the series (with the possible exception of Professor Calculus). Diehard Tintin fans will also have a field day spotting the many references and trivia in the movie in relation to other books of the series. The incendiary combination of Spielberg and Peter Jackson combine for a masterpiece, and you will relive the unabashed adventure that is the Tintin comic. Suffice to say – do not miss this one

16.5/20

The Human Detective

A tragedy in the family, many years ago, leaves Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub) bereft of family, with OCD, and out of the police detective force, but not shorn of his one-in-a-million detective faculties. With no pretensions to physicality – or even normalcy – Monk uncannily makes connections that no one can, with information that everyone has, and solves cases that befuddle one and all. One of the most successful TV Series of all time, Monk (the protagonist) is aided in no small measure by doting nurse Sharona (Bitty Schram) and the grudgingly admiring detective Leland Stottmeyer (Ted Levine). Monk is one of the best TV series you could possibly watch – and in its genre, while it misses the “analytical intensity” of say a CSI, its not-infrequent dark overtones steer it clear of the frivolity of other successful crime series’ such as Castle and Psych

16/20

Eagle One

Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) has clearly not seen movies of the likes of Centurion. Hence when his father disappears with the Roman Ninth Legion in a Britain infested with Celtic hordes, Marcus sets out to redeem the family’s honour, into a territory so hostile that, beyond Hadrian's Wall, it marks the end of the Roman Empire. Marcus sets out into North Britain with the fiercely clannish local slave Esca (Jamie Bell) and manages to connect with the past – however, it is utterly uncertain whether he will manage to achieve his objective of recovering the Roman Eagle from an unrelentingly hostile territory. This is a reasonable watch but in all fairness outclassed in its genre. Watch this when you have run out of period movies, including (the Pict-infested) Centurion

12/20

He Knows no Fear. He Knows No Danger. He Knows Nothing

Could not help inserting the catchy movie caption in the subject line. Johnny English Reborn carries on from where the previous edition had left off (and mercifully without any overtly emoting-challenged cast). The movie opens in Tibet, where English’s penance for an earlier failed mission is interrupted by an MI7 summons, to the great joy of fellow inmates at the monastery. The mission this time around – to protect the Chinese Premier. Expectedly, the story traverses many locales with the copybook laugh-a-minute slapstick humor firmly in place. Rowan Atkinson is clearly a niche by himself, and Mr Bean of the TV series has metamorphosed into a full-blown nearing-cult comedy personality

14.5/20

Tower of Righteous Actions

When investment manager and scamster Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda)’s Ponzi scheme goes down, so do the life’s savings of all the staff at his residential tower. Determined to get back what is rightfully owed to them, building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) forms a team with a mission to steal back what is rightfully owed to them, in a Tower Heist. Given their complete lack of criminal experience, the team also hires one out-on-bail Slide (Eddie Murphy). An elaborately planned heist unearths unexpected findings, but not before some improvisation and brushes with danger. In the end all ends well, in a regular light entertainer that does not disappoint nor overly succeed either

12.5/20

Selling at the Margin

In a not-so-irregular round of bloodletting in an unnamed Wall Street investment bank, Chief Risk Officer Eric Dale (Staley Tucci) is let go. While leaving the bank premises, he asks associate Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) to look at a model that he was working on – with the parting words – “Be Careful”. Peter passes up a night with the boys and completes the model – and realizes its catastrophic and immediate implications on the bank’s own risk positions. The rest of the night is an effort at assembling the bank’s top management and deciding on a de-risking strategy – nothing more than a “sell it all” diktat - and deliberating upon the consequences of the same on both the book and the bank’s reputation for years to come. Margin Call is an all-star, accurate, gripping insight into the cold-blooded world of investment banking, and the eventual dispensability of all those that are in it

15.5/20

On Benefits...

Headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis) closes an assignment with Dylan (Justin Timberlake) that sees the latter relocating to New York. The duo decide to try out intimacy without commitment, that works for a while, but eventually they decode to go their own separate ways. And expectedly, not for long, for in the world of the romantic comedy genre, sex without feelings is an obvious impossibility. Like any other romantic comedy with an apology for a plot, Friends with Benefits hinges on the chemistry between the lead pair – and there is plenty of that. Worth a watch, if you care about the genre, that is

13.5/20