Heinous

Governess Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) arrives in Collinsport, Maine, to attend to the anything-but-usual Collins family – particularly David (Gulliver McGrath) the disturbed young ‘un in the family. The Collins family has a long and illustrious history in Maine – that has been systemically driven to ruins. Enter Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) – long deceased and vampire-at-large. Even as he apologetically quenches his thirst for blood by taking out construction workers, hippies, and unscrupulous resident doctors, the efforts at defeating the enterprise of arch-rival Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) look like they will come to naught – not least because of the ties that bind Barnabas  and Angelique. So even as Barnabas dalliances between Angelique and Victoria, the new-found strength in the Collins business looks like its demise shall be as meteoric as its resurgence. Or, is it that Josette (Josephine Butler), mother of David and resident ghost of the family, can bring her not inconsiderable supernatural powers to bear? Dark Shadows is an awful movie, does discredit to the likes of Johnny Depp and Eva Green as actors, and one that you definitely do not look forward to viewing

9/20

A Demon Wronged

Johnny Depp's triumphs never end. A coldblooded avenger in 19th century London? No sweat! Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is a man wronged - charged of a crime he did not commit and thereafter exiled, by the near-theaterically evil Judge Turpin, who then abuses his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and even drives her to suicide. Benjamin returns to London under the alias Sweeney Todd, determined to seek the revenge owed to him. Sweeney Todd proceeds to partner with Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) and work as a barber at her meat pie shop on Fleet Street, and extract his pound of flesh - some would say literally - from those that have wronged him. Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - is a retake on a character much depicted on multiple media - the version herein is possibly a reasonably faithful adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Like most of the protagonist's work, the sheer brilliance of the protagonist's acting abilities takes this adaptation to a different level

15.5/20

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

True Colours

Pet chameleon Rango falls off his owner’s vehicle in the middle of the desert, and finds his thespian skills – well, all skills – tested to the hilt in the obscure desert town of Dirt. A series of serendipitous circumstances make the denizens of Dirt believe that they have a hero in Rango, who will solve their water problem and save the town. However, while Rango’s first few lucky exploits reinforce his reputation, luck soon runs out and he has to find his true calling – aided by the Spirit of the West – a Man with No Name (a spoof on Clint Eastwood and the likes and a moment of much hilarity among many in the movie), Rango returns to much distrust. But will Rango help provide not just water, but unravel the machinations of the unscrupulous as well? An all-star cast (albeit only in voice-over), hilarious characters (with the piece de resistance being the out-of-the-world hombre owl band - see above pix), laugh-a-minute jokes, and some serious storytelling included – this one is quite the exceptional animation movie. Too bad it is trailing Rio in the 2011 summer animation release sweepstakes

14.5/20

Alice in Blunderland

I was really really hoping that this one had turned out well. Instead I got treated to a seriously flawed screen adaptation that was truly a pain to watch. This current edition of Alice in Wonderland is one wherein the emphasis seems to be on the digital presentation of a magical world. All the characters without exception from the haughty Red Queen to the humble Dormouse are poorly developed – some like the Chesire Cat are excruciatingly poorly developed. Coming to the digital presentation – no redemption herein - garish special effects ensure that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson will gladly have given this rabbit hole a pass. The biggest failure of this movie is the turning of a (part-political) satire, and at the very least a funny story, into a good-vs-evil combat arena with generous pickings from the likes of LOTR (compare the faceoff with the Jabberwocky and the Nazgul faceoff in the first installment of LOTR), Narnia (good and evil – the battle across the plain), and the Golden Compass (riding the Bandersnatch vs Riding the Polar Bear). Is that all? Not quite. There is a perceptible lack of humour through the film. Also, this is a movie which will get a straight zero for costume design with it being hard to tell which is the more horrifying - Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, or Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. The only redeeming feature – half a minute of recap of Alice’s last visit that shows a tiny vignette of what this Tim Burton (believe it or not) movie could have been

7/20

Enemies of an Ineffectual State

Public Enemies tests the thespian skills of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, but hardly to their limits. John Dillinger, hardened Depression-era bank robber pulls off audacious heists right under the noses of the law, and follows up with equally audacious escapes across state lines. The latter prompts the then head of the police forces, J Edgar Hoover, to set up a law enforcement organization that cuts across state lines called – what else – the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The romance with Marion Cotillard arouses a (on hindsight) misplaced twinge of sympathy for a hardened criminal. The movie is about the chase and how John’s world is slowly decimated, not only in the face of concerted legal action, but also on account of the return to prosperity of America that takes away several of his partners in crime. An interesting movie, but could have had a lot more to offer

13/20