Joy to watch

Another JLaw stunner. Could have been called Determination. Theatrics do not detract from magnitude of core achievement of the one and only Joy (Jennifer Lawrence), succeeding against all odds with bringing the most basic of inventions to market, against all the retrograde forces of doubting family and marketeers, and ruthless competition in the course of business. A must-watch

16/20

Galactic Hotch-potch

Guardians of the Galaxy – well, I refuse to review this one. As I write this, I am looking at mindboggling ratings on the *leading movie review sites* for what is really a smorgsbard of an intergalactic thriller (that I am sure Marvel aficionados are well aware of) that does not have a speck of originality save the tepid bursts of mild humour. I quite liked Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) but, for the most part, he careens through a chaos of a plot, that, surprise surprise, is succeeding wildly at a commercial level. All the best to this Galaxy

9.5/20 

Binge East

Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married in beautiful Thailand, and the wolfpack – Phil (Bradley Cooper), the reluctantly invited Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and new addition – Teddy (Mason Lee), the wife’s brother, find themselves on the beachside with an innocuous catch-up meal of beer and marshmallows. Next morning, they wake up in a seedy Bangkok apartment – well, almost all of them - and the real party starts. The Hangover II will give more than a passing flavor of the city, with tuktuks and river cruises evenly matched with ladyboys, gangsters and monks with a vow of silence, among much else. While bursting crime rackets may be a fringe benefit of the wolfpack’s fact-finding mission on what happened the night before, the trio have the deadly serious agenda of figuring out the whereabouts of Teddy and returning in time for Stu’s wedding. While the night-before-amnesia is now par for the course for the series, Bangkok throws in enough colour if its own to rival Las Vegas. And much of it is strictly over-18 fare – no surprises there

14.5/20

A Case of old wine..

Someone please step out there and re-invent the horror movie genre. Case 39 is a case in point that totally lacks any new inspiration. Social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) takes a personal interest in Lillith Sullivan (Jodie Ferland), and the interest turns into alarmed near-adoption as Emily finds that Lillith’s parents were actually trying to kill her. Living under the same roof has unexpected (?) consequences however – a number of people close to Emily start dying, and the linkages to Lilith become irrefutable. And then the attempts to destroy the evil presence follow. Once you have the Omen meets Exorcist feeling about halfway through the movie, you will rapidly lose interest and wonder whether there is anything unexpected around the corner – there isn’t

10/20

Alas!

Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is the sheet anchor central role in Alias. Without her tantalizing mix of emoting and physicality, this is a TV series that would simply fall apart. Consider the weaknesses in the plot. Do you seriously believe that something like the SD-6 is proliferant in the US in terms of the scale and scope? Are you expected to believe that it occurred to none of SD6's inmates that they have never been to, and never deal directly with, Langley (including to Sydney, for a period of (hold your breath - seven years))? Father and daughter, two double agents living under a knife, and their CIA handler, meet on an almost daily basis and even speak on the phone and exchange messages. And what on earth are the artifacts of Milo Rambaldi and the Nazi - allusion justifications of seeking the occult becoming a matter of national security? If it were not for Jennifer Garner, we would never have heard of this series. Having said that, one has to give some weightage I suppose to the sheer entertainment value of the series. The episodes, standalone, are engaging and if one simply skirts the complicity of believability, Alias is as good a timepass as any

10.5/20

While You were Sleeping

Once in a while comes a low budget movie that literally sweeps you off your feet. While I cannot in all honesty accord such generous description to The Hangover, this is unqualified wholesome entertainment. After a long time comes a comedy that does not involve romantic tiffs and goofy slapstick. What makes The Hangover stand out is that a lot of the audience can relate to the overall theme, and the escapades are hilarious without being ludicrous. There is also the element of unraveling the events of the night past step by step, which, while not always consistent, does keep the audience engaged. One of the best comedies going in a while

12.5/20