Rinse (with the Mososaur), Repeat

 It is the present day, and people have lost interest in the dinosaurs; the apathy could not be more apparent as an ageing brontosaurus is removed from the streets of Manhattan. But money hasn't lost its draw unlike the dinosaurs, and a team led by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a man of dubious morals, joins hands with Zora (Scarlett Johansson), Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and others to seek samples from the aquatic Mosasaurus, terrestrial Titanosaurus, and avian Quetzalcoatlus, in order to find a lucrative cure to a heart disease. On the way their paths cross with the Delgado family – father Reuben, daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Xavier (David Iacono), who are on an unlikely Trans-Atlantic voyage on their summer break. With adventures over land and water, and on the high cliffs of the equatorial island, Jurassic World – Rebirth makes specific effort to draw on the  memories of the franchise – children below overturned means of transportation, T-rex drawn away with flares, the inevitable raptors vs children in a dark room. But all said and done it's executed well without monotony – perhaps the strength of the movie is in its excellent casting – memories with new energy and freshness

16/20

Forests, Friends and Foes

In this faithful-to-Kipling adaptation, The Jungle Book shows the true color (in the anthropomorphic animals) of the denizens of the forest. The friendly and collaborative bears and panthers, need to face up to the manipulative monkeys and the power-hungry tiger. Highest grossing movie (and that includes Hindi movies) for the year till date

16/20

Don

Neither men nor women quite understand intimacy. While we have suave student Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) preferring the excesses of porn to the drudge of the real thing, for the so-called ideal woman Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), intimacy is about possessiveness and behavioral controls. Finally, it takes an offbeat relationship to bring some semblance of normalcy to Don Jon. Captivating, though difficult to understand the director’s intent on this one

12/20

Action Unlimited

Do we really need to get into the script here? The irrepressible Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) with his equally irrepressible one-liners. Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) shoulder to shoulder in their fight against evil – well, at least till and when the Hulk is is one of his moods. The irrepressible Thor (Chris Helmsworth) and the gorgeous Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) round off the superhero set. The mission – to stop Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in his tracks as he hunts for the Tesseract – a source of great and dangerous power. Never a dull moment (would have been a travesty with this cast), and an all-out commercial entertainer, The Avengers, needless to say, was a resounding success of 2012

13/20

Iron Age - Part II

Director Jon Favreau clearly realizes that he has a good (read lucrative) thing going, and wants to keep his powder dry for later installments, as far as Iron Man 2– the second installment of the irrepressible Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, is concerned. This superhero clearly differentiates himself from the rest of the save-the-world pack on two counts (a) his identity is out in the open (b) he is singularly immodest. With a cast that clearly “trades up” from the first installment, Iron Man II runs through Tony’s idiosyncratic jaunts, in particular handing over the Stark empire to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) on what appears to be a whim, and an impulsive participation in the Monaco GP that reveals potential supervillian Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Lt Col James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) brings the voice of reason, the Hammer empire headed by the unscrupulous Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) is all about bare-knuckles corporate rivalry, and Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) ups the glamour quotient substantially. Endnote – this movie keeps you wholesomely entertained, and waiting for more from Tony Stark. Mission accomplished for now
13/20

Charmed
Vicky Christina Barcelona, like good food or fine wine, lingers in the senses long after the movie. Vignettes stick in one’s mind – in no particular order:
- The beautiful sights and sounds of Barcelona, in a lovely yellow tint. Last time I remember it is the no less beautiful French countryside in A Good Year
- A strictly right-side-of-the-brain movie with art and spontaneity and passion
- Vicky’s confused affections that cannot reconcile till the very end
- Christina’s clarity about choosing ambiguity in relationships
- The torrid Hispanic Elena
- The matter-of-fact narration that lets you draw you own conclusions, unhindered
Watch the movie as a strictly sensory pleasure without judgement. With of course Woody Allen’s masterful hand at depicting relationships

14/20

Chronic Persistent Hunger

Ambition drives men to suceess but very few know where to draw the line. In Woody Allen’s Match Point, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) does not know where the line is, paradoxically for a successful tennis player. Lust and betrayal draw him from the very edge of success and fortune to a terminal outcome. Not quite game set and match. A strong drama but with the exception of the lead, the performances are not convincing