Engineering Marvel

What is engineering - applied science - all about? It is about solving problems one by one, rigorously, from first principles, till a specific and possibly difficult goal is acheived. What if that goal were to be to return to Earth? Botanist and astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) shows us how engineering is done. I have as of yesterday been totally floored by The Martian, and its rigorous step-by-step engineering approach to problem solving, which quote frankly I cannot recall seeing in any other movie thus far. This is an absolute must-watch, and this is the sort of movie that twenty years later some scientists will quote as the early inspiration for their chosen path in life

16.5/20

More Dragon

Here’s to finding a parent, dragon-care in the family and beyond, and having a good old bare-knuckles good-vs-evil fight with alpha dragons and some not-so-beta-dragons. While How to Train your Dragon 2 is quite entertaining, perhaps the grown-up watcher will notice the lame effort for a storyline. Or, perhaps not. My kid loved it, is enacting sequences at home right now. Mission accomplished, Hollywood for Kids..

12/20

Walter out there

A quiet man – Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) sees off the last issue in print of “Life” magazine, sees the first whiff of adventure by flying to Greenland, and then to Iceland, in the footsteps of his photographer. Cast into adventure, and something akin to love, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty captures the poignancy of things that shall pass, and how we are remembered

12/20

Take it Out

The life of Joel (Jason Bateman) is one of running his humdrum Extract manufacturing and packaging business, with its excruciatingly boring workforce with their excruciatingly trivial problems, a drink with longtime buddy Dean (Ben Affleck), dealing with obnoxious neighbors, and the wife who has virtually shut off conjugal bliss. On the advice of the old pal, Joel lines himself up for one on the side with hot intern Cindy (Mila Kunis), while hooking his wife up with a gigolo Step (Clifton Collins Jr). With several comic turns, this rather simply concocted movie manages to maintain the atmospheric drabness endemic to the central product and its founder, while being a mild low-key entertainer

12/20

Change of Heart

The despicable Gru (Steve Carell) is fast losing ground among the panoply of the world’s most despicable criminals. The likes of Vector (Jason Segel), young and aggressive, are the new poster boys of the financing giant The Bank of Evil. So Gru – along with the aid of evil genius scientist Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), and the minions, sets out on an audacious project – to shrink the moon and bring it back to Earth. Even as Vector threatens to steal a march over Gru, the latter adopts three orphaned children – ostensibly to help in the accomplishment of his nefarious objective – with unexpected consequences. With sharply defined characters, especially the Scrooge-meets-The Grinch Gru, and the young and scheming Vector, Despicable Me is a treat to watch and one of the underrated animation movies of 2010

14/20