Over to the Shire

In 2001 began a journey for me, sitting in IIMB campus, with Frodo Baggins, aided by Aragorn, Legolas, the dwarves, and the one and only Gandalf. The journey ended with The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies. It is thus with a twinge of more than a little nostalgia, then, that I pen this review. Executed with the same standards of excellence that we have come to expect of the franchise, the latest movie is particularly notable for the emotional turns of Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) – the lure of gold, and the eventual return to nobility. In this edition, the five armies – dwarves, elves and men, face off against the orcs, and a fifth army joins and eventually tips the balance. Brilliant action scenes and depiction of the sheer ambiguity of alliances and their fall-outs make The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies – quite exceptional. A must watch – but then if you have been with the series, that hardly needs any iteration

16/20

Earth and its Idiosyncracies

Pk is a reasonably engaging if totally hackneyed movie that, in the vein of several hindi movies, rather obviously tugs at the emotional heartstrings of the average Bollywood movie-goer. With a central theme of cutting through religious divides, the movie passes through beautiful Bruges and the pot-pourri of Delhi, and plays out a delectable love triangle in the most tangential of ways. Pk (Aamir Khan) plays out his role convincingly in what is an unoriginal but engaging script

10/20

Night in Armour

A familiar cast – a new location – a notable new addition. Larry (Ben Stiller), the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, along with the familiar cast of Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Octavius (Steve Coogan), Akhmenrah (Rami Malek) and Attila (Patrick Gallagher) find themselves at the British Museum in London, to salvage the spell under the tablet of Akhmenrah, that would save all of the above cast, and more, from not waking up at all. In the bargain, they wake up Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens) and find themselves in complicated situations with the latter's adventurous pretensions getting in the way. Quite entertaining, the newest edition – Night at The Museum – Secret of the Tomb – is faithful to the franchise even as it ostensibly wraps it up in a dash of Brit flavor

12.5/20

Kicks and Punches

This one – a classic – is rather simple, and goes like this – Kurt (Jean Claude Van Damme) goes to Thailand, and sees his brother Eric (Dennis Alexio) pummeled at the hands of prize-fighter Tong Po (Michel Qissi). Determined to seek revenge, Kurt trains under the legendary Xian Chow (Dennis Chan) and goes all out to meet and Tong Po and avenge his brother’s defeat. Kickboxer (1989) is one of the great combat movies that started a genre that continues to excite to this day – on and off the screen

13.5/20

Intensity

“You’re on my team, kid. I’m not on yours. And don’t you ever forget that.” Thus spake Greg (Nicky Katt) to newbie Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi), taking the new hotshot salesman down, in what is one of the most intense brokerage firms in New York – the fictitious JT Martin. Intensity and unscrupulousness go hand in hand as pure greed drives JT Martin’s salesmen to dump worthless penny stocks on unsuspecting victims. Boiler Room, one of the eponymous Wall Street movies of its time, just reminds us that the ethics of the chop shop are still alive and well in Wall Street and elsewhere, come 2014

15/20

Moses Reloaded

Moses (Christian Bale) is a general and member of the Royal family of Egypt. His bond with Ramesses (Joel Edgerton) is strong – borne out particularly by saving the latter’s life in a face-off with the Hittite army. Moses is also ambivalent to the fate of the Hebrews – Israelis – his very own race, toiling away as slaves to build the great pyramids of Egypt. It takes certain revelations for Moses to leave the kingdom for good, and seek out his destiny elsewhere. And then a vision – visitiation from God? Or just inspiration? leads him back to Egypt to free his people and take them to the Promised Land. Exodus – Gods and Kings stands out for the sheer mastery of the build-up of the character of Moses from a general of an empire, to a much older and wiser leader of a people. Perhaps a little marred by the liberal use of some barely believable special effects, the movie is nevertheless an essential watch in a year of movies that, while dull for the most part, seems to be ending off rather nicely

14.5/20

Katniss Marketing

In the buildup to the last installment, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is literally paraded by the rebel factions hidden in District 13. Led by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss becomes a thoroughly marketed symbol of hope for all the Districts breaking out in rebellion, with the highlight being a particularly rousing speech in District 8 post the bombing of a hospital. In the backdrop plays out the impending confrontation of Katniss with President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and the release of her boyfriend Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) with some complicated side-effects. Clearly a bridge-ing movie, The Hunger Games – Mockingjay – Part 1 preserves continuity, but has little new to offer

13.5/20

Penguin Mashup

The antics of Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Private (Christopher Knights) and Rico (Conrad Vernon) are strictly for younger humans this time round. While Penguins of Madagascar has enough comic turns to draw laughs periodically, it is too nonsensical – and I mean this in the context of any number of animated children’s movies that are not – to make any coherent sense for perhaps anyone over the age of five. I could barely tolerate it – and the seven-year old lost interest too after a while. Thumbs down.

10/20

Return to Confrontation

As the apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis) find peace in what they believe is a world devoid of humans, the latter suddenly emerge – and thus ensues an uneasy face-off between humans and apes. A show of power by the apes, and the inimical hatred for humans borne by Koba (Tony Kebbell) are challenges for the more balanced Caesar as well as for the humans struggling to create a source of electrical power. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a well-executed movie, showcasing ape-human tensions along expected lines, and keeping the viewer reasonably engaged on a well-paced storyline

13.5/20