Works, John!

A fifty-something Keanu Reeves shakes himself out of career stupor and delivers an utterly convincing action thriller in John Wick. A wafer-thin storyline barely separates John Wick (Keanu Reeves) from the Russian Mafia, and generally speaking, the latter’s decimation in the hands of the former. This is the resurrection of an action hero, in full-on avenger mode as he sets to right some stereotypical wrong in brilliantly choreographed fight sequences. Enjoyed every minute of it – two thumbs up!

14.5/20

The Dumbest Cut

It was plain ... well, dumb, to remake Dumb and Dumber and produce the sad spectacle that is Dumb and Dumber To. Slapstick that does not click, crassness that screams out to be called out, a contrived storyline, and an utter waste of a brilliant cast and franchise. Eminently avoidable... would rather sit and watch maybe Scary Movie something at home..

9.5/20

A New Hero

Maybe it was the long hiatus from a copybook Disney movie – whatever be the reason, Big Hero 6 was an all out winner with the 7- year old. Rikk revelled in Big Hero 6 - Beymax the incredibly endearing friendly robot, the little army of do-gooders, Takashi's  ultimate sacrifice. Absoultely unmissable as far as kids' watching is concerned

16/20

Stellar

Complex and defining, inevitably compared to 2001 – A Space Odessey, and generally panned for its surfeit of near-pretentious mastery of quantum physics, Christopher Nolans’s latest magnum opus – Interstellar – is making waves worldwide as we speak. Set in a mildly dystopian, post-apocalyptic frugal future, Cooper (Matthew MacConnaughey), farmer turned pilot, stumbles upon the remnants of NASA, at the cusp of seeking to send a person to space and making contact with – well, something that could potentially save humans on Earth. Dazzling visuals, an intriguing storyline that requires the average viewer to pull up his/ her socks on the topic of quantum gravity and the like… Interstellar is quite the entertainer. Full marks to a brave movie that pushes the boundaries of what can be digested on “popular” cinema

16/20

Still there after All Those Things..

Gone Girl is an extraordinary movie that picks on (simultaneously) intense parenting, scheming wives, cheating husbands, doting siblings, obnoxious media, enthusiastic policemen – and a lot more - all in one swift stroke of genius from David Fincher (Fight Club, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). Nick (Ben Affleck) and  Amy (Rosamund Pike) are a copybook couple in New York – the recession and career changes takes them to faraway Missouri – wherein the chinks in the armor of their marriage (who has the money? Kids, anyone? How about old flames, or pretty young things?) – begin to unravel. Yes, Amy is long gone – but in a black comedy of extremes, she makes her way back to Nick’s life – or does she? This is a stellar thriller-cum-drama rolled into one. Unmissable.

16/20

One in a Million (or at least in a few dozen..)

Albert (Seth McFarlane) is the quintessential misfit in the harsh Wild West – a well-read polished gentleman who tries to reason his way out of gunfights, much to the chagrin of bemused on-lookers who have come for a day’s entertainment i.e. watching one of the duelers die. Sheep farmer by profession, and spurned by gold digging girlfriend Louise (Amanda SeyFreid), Albert loses his heart to Anna (Charlize Theron), and almost his life to her husband – notorious outlaw Clinch (Liam Neeson). Hilarious in parts, crass in a few, eminently watchable and an unexpected winner overall – A Million Ways to Die in the West does not fail to remind you often enough that the Wild West really sucked..

14/20

Hope (Slowly) Belied

A Most Wanted Man is a dark brooding (way too brooding) adaption of a John LeCarre novel. Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is escaping the war in Chechenya and the horrors inflicted by the Russians – including his own father – and immigration lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) becomes a source of hope for him, in seeking asylum in Germany. Anti espionage agent Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is looking at extracting information – and an amicable solution to the plight of Grigoriy – but is that likely to happen? Ponder over that along with the chain-smoking Gunther, slowly and laboriously, as the answer indeed shall come to pass. Marketed as a thriller but clearly a drama at heart, A Most Wanted Man is one for the diehard spy whodunit aficionados

12.5/20

Future on Edge

The indescribable something – some element of movie magic – that does not quite come together in Minority Report and later Oblivion, comes through in Edge of Tomorrow – and how! This is an unmissable one from Tom Cruise’s “I-alternate-between-future-saver-of-Mankind and Mission-Impossible-Part-Zillion” stable. US Military officer Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself thrown into direct warfare – against an invading alien army called the Mimics. Through a strange power that has been bestowed only on him on account of his actions, Cage finds himself being reborn over and over, with ally Rita Vrajanski aka Full Metal Bitch (Emily Blunt), and, over the course of the re-births, the duo try to salvage the future of mankind. The strength of Edge of Tomorrow derives from a well-written script as much as it derives from sterling performances from the lead pair. Mankind can heave a sigh of relief over this one.

14.5/20

Retreat, Hell

Fury zones in on the tank battles in the wake of the German retreat, at the fag end of World War II, in April 1945. The Germans are determined – well, by and large – to protect every inch of territory down to the last man, woman and child. Enter battle hardened Don Wardaddy Collier (Brad Pitt) ad his Sherman tank crew. Minor skirmishes – turns out that resistance can be led by children too, blossoming love and loss, but above all, intense tank battles – especially pitted against the significantly superior Tiger tank, are the hallmark of this movie. Fury is not one of the best World War II movies ever made, but captures the theater of tank battles rather well

13/20