Old Wine

Vincent Brazil (Jean Claude Van Damme) still has the mojo. He looks his age but he hunts and kills like a man half his age. Assassination Games begins profiling Vincent - the killer that is done with a life of violence – living with his now paralyzed wife in a quiet corner of the world. And what could motivate Vincent to one last assignment than getting rid of the scourge called Polo Yakur (Ivan Kaye), who has just been released from prison, and was the inflictor of much wrong upon the Brazil family. In comes the copybook assassination attempt – and fails – with the revelation of one more assassin - Ronald Flint (Scott Atkins) - in contention. Flint and Brazil team up, but it takes more than the assassination skill-set to track down and eliminate the common target. Expectedly quite clichéd, but in the end reckoning a fast paced action movie that can definitely hold its own

12.5/20

The Peoples Princess.. er, President

For a nation that prides itself on being the guiding light for egalite', the realityis that there has been no female (US) President till date. Commander in Chief seeks to undo that inequity, albeit only in a TV series. The talented Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis), who is everything that a copybook woman politician should be except overtly political, finds herself holding the highest office in the land in rather fortuitous circumstances. And immediately upon taking office, she has to toe the line on several issues of global import that her feminine charm helps handle with more than a little elan. Strictly for casual viewing, and kid-gloves approach to realpolitik not recommended for dealing with real life crises

11/20

Rudy Little

Sean Astin, later to become the eponymous Samwise Gamjee, is the large-hearted but diminutive Daniel E Ruettiger aka Rudy in the movie of the same name. Never the one with great grades, Rudy is the quintessential underdog, a worker in a steel mill, with a continuing dream of studying in the University of Notre Dame and playing for The Irish - the football team of the same college, that is #1 ranked in the country. Unbelievably, with a bit of a helping hand from various well-wishers, Rudy makes his way to Notre Dame, and does all but actually play for its football team. And then that, too, comes to pass. Rudy is often quoted as a testament to what a single man’s tenacity can accomplish, and no one can take away from the protagonist's achievements. The only exception - actually playing for the team for a fleeting few minutes - that wee bit smacked more than a little of patronage.

13/20

A Minor Primate Uprising

Gen-Sys, a pharma company based in San Francisco, is developing a new drug that offers a possible cure to Alzheimer’s. However, plans to move to human testing are abruptly cut short on account of a (misinterpreted) act of animal violence. The testing specimens are put to rest – except one baby chimpanzee – Caesar – adopted by scientist Will Rodman (James Franco). A violent episode against a neighbor consigns Caesar to an animal sanctuary, where he gets a first taste of human cruelty. Eventually, Caesar manages to break free from confinement and empower his primate fellow-inmates, with more than just the average drug. So far so good. What follows is acts of wanton ape vandalism that belies all expectations from a drug that apparently enhances intelligence. And that is where the movie falls apart. Far from getting to anything dystopian or ominous, Rise of the Planet of the Apes ends as a minor skirmish between man and a few slighted apes. Similarly shallow is the role of Caroline Aranha (Frieda Pinto), who manages to duly express affection and consternation in measured doses without attempting anything remarkable

11/20

Tell me no Lies

The irrepressible and egoistical Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) challenges the world at large to Lie to Me (TV Series), as the Lightman Group uses visual clues to uncover human deception. With a team consisting of partner Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), and the occasional appearances of Lightman’s ex-wife Zoe (Jennifer Beals), Lightman uses natural talent at interpreting microexpressions, and applied psychology, to solve anything from hostage situations and other national crises, to marital disputes. Cal’s character is loosely based upon the character of pre-eminent applied psychologist Paul Ekman, and the series widely uses the Facial Action Coding System and other branches of applied psychology. I was hooked by the first few episodes – which was the general reaction to the series, as well. On the other hand, Lie to Me does begin to flag into the third season, with a marked paucity of ideas for underlying cases, and a hackneyed cast

16/20

Punishment and (then) Crime

Good guy Henry (Keanu Reeves) finds himself framed by “friends” – a fall guy for a bank robbery he did not commit, in Henry's Crime. Losing his wife, and three years of his life in jail, Henry returns to attempt the robbery he did not commit. His accomplices – fellow convict Max (James Caan), buddy Joe (Eddie Hoch), security guard Frank (Bill Duke), and the charming Julie (Vera Farmiga) who becomes the object of Henry’s affection. The plot is straightforward, with the attempt at drawing analogies to Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard’s themes of loss and moving on being applied to situations that are not entirely contextual. Reasonable fare with moments of genuine humor, and of thespian brilliance from the mercurial Julie

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

Insuring your Moral Compass

Tim (Ed Helms) is a nondescript insurance agent for Brown Valley Insurance, the latter being an unlikely winner of the prestigious winner of the Two Diamonds awards for four years running. When the untimely demise of a colleague elevates Tim to the position of representative for his company at the ASMI convention in Cedar Rapids where these awards are given out, Tim is naturally overwhelmed – he has never even flown before! Enter the trio of the irrepressible Dean Ziegler (John C Reilly), Joan Ostrowshi-Fox (Anne Heche) and Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr) and lessons in life and the real world abound for Tim. Even as he breaks off a meaningless relationship with his former schoolteacher Macy (Sigourney Weaver), Tim learns the dark secrets of his company’s unlikely previous wins, and has to do his own figuring out between right and wrong. While Tim will inevitably make his companions friends for life, will he be able to stick up for his True North? A feisty little movie for the heart and casual no-frills viewing

12/20

Of Staring Down Goats and Other Warfare

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a reporter with the Ann Arbor Daily Telegram is devastated when his wife leaves him for the newspaper's editor. A chance meeting in Kuwait with retired Special Forces member Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney) introduces Bob to the world of psychic warfare, and a story of their antecedents that sounds too ludicrous to be true. Started by US Army officer Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) during the Vietnam war on the aftermath of a curious event on the battlefield, the New Earth Movement soon had an equally strong and opposed proponent in the form of Bill’s student Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) – the latter not a proponent of the non-violent ways of Bill and fellow-student Lyn. While some experiences are harder to believe than others, Bob and Lyn eventually find themselves in a psychic warfare camp run by Larry, where Bill is a mere depressive inmate. With predictive abilities on coin tosses, splitting clouds, and apparently killing goats by staring at them, The Men Who Stare at Goats is a now-you-believe-it-now-you-don’t expose on psychic warfare that is tailored more for humour than for serious consumption. With deft touches, director Grant Heslov leaves you with just the facts, and your own interpretations

12.5/20

Crying Wolf.. and Again

In a village so isolated that its whereabouts itself are uncertain, the villagers have kept up a tradition of making offerings to the predatory wolf from the nearby forest, to keep the peace between man and wolf. When the peace is broken by the wolf itself, the villagers resolve to kill it – and ostensibly succeed. Enter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), apparently a returnee to the village – with his little band of warriors, his torture device and cruel tactics – and a chilling revelation – that the village is up against more than it believes it is. But even as the needle of suspicion swings between protagonist Valerie (Red Riding Hood) (Amanda Seyfried), her grandmother who lives in the forest (Julie Christie), and her two suitors – Cesaire (Billy Burke) and Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), among others, the villagers must suffer multiple times at the hands of both the tyrant and the wolf, before the chilling truth is revealed. A movie released a while back to which critics have been unduly harsh, Red Riding Hood is a twisted and somewhat dark take on the eponymous children’s fairytale

12/20

Mega Skirmishes

Evil Megamind (Will Ferrell) and the city’s superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt) battle for control over Metro City. While the latter seems to invariably have the upper hand, in one final skirmish, Megamind destroys (?) Metroman. Unexpectedly, the same is just the beginning of Megamind’s life sinking into purposelessness, even as Metro Man’s former flame Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) first falls for him and then falls out. Megamind needs a hero to match his evil – and proceeds to create one – with markedly unexpected consequences. Well, all is well that ends well, and some of the moral leanings of the cast are somewhat altered in the end. While a decent watch, the quality of animation – especially the emoting or lack of it, and the poor soundtrack, make Megamind pale to the releases from the Pixar and even the DreamWorks stable (How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar Series, Kung Fu Panda series) of late

12/20

Future Readjusted

Concurrent with the total collapse of his electoral campaign on the expose of some relatively trivial college event, Congressman David Norris (Matt Damon) falls for Elisa Sellas (Emily Blunt), a new York-based aspiring dancer. But, there are those who are determined that their union does not happen. As the movie progresses, the antecedents of The Adjustment Bureau come to light. But does the mere fact of the existence of a master plan mean the death of free will? And what does it mean for the potential tradeoff between career and love for David and Elisa? While the topics dealt with are deep and existential, the lack of any meaningful chemistry between the lead pair, and the rather offhand treatment of patently deep subjects means that this strange cross between sci fi and romance just scratches the surface of what it could have been

11/20

The Simple Class

After the tightly scripted introduction to Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in 2009, the X men franchise proceeds to provide a smorgsabord account of the history of several key characters. Set in the 1940 – 1960’s cusp, X Men – First Class is inevitably intertwined with several key (mostly American) historical events of its time. The whole routine of the contemplative Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr/ Magneto (Michael Fassbender) being shaped by their experiences is rather hackneyed, and the easy re-rendition of historical facts threatens to sink this installment into the Marvel comics rather than Marvel graphic novels-genre. But there is enough going for the movie by way of straight entertainment. The highly adaptive prequel, like some of this mutant cast, swings between death camps and Nazi hunts, and the Oxford life and missile crises. Touching? No. Noir? Definitely not. This is the cookie cutter entertainer without the hint of a shade of grey. And previous installments have done enough for this one to be a natural commercial hit. All said, I preferred Wolverine

12/20

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

More Panda More King Fu

In Kung Fu Panda II, The Kung Fu Panda quintet (Po the Panda (Jack Black), with the tigress (Angelina Jolie), monkey (Jackie Chan, viper (Lucy Liu) and mantis (Seth Rogen)) are at peace, and Po is in nostalgia mode with the goose father. In the meantime, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), the ambitious peafowl, has a new weapon at hand, and seeks to take over China. Not if Po can help it. What starts off as a rescue mission for a single village soon erupts into an action-sequence-a-minute all out battle between good and evil. And it remains to be seen whether the sheep oracle’s (Michelle Yeoh) prophecy of the black and white warrior defeating Lord Shen will come to pass. With a galaxy of stars providing the voice-overs, Po the high-energy lovable fighting panda, can effortlessly chop and kick his way through many more sequels to come

14/20

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

Outside the Company

The demise of the American shipbuilding industry spells the demise of the careers of three men – The Company Men - all long-timers with the $ 11 bn turnover GTX. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), regional head of sales, is perhaps the most affected. More than letting go of what he once considered life’s essentials, it is letting go of one’s pride what hurts Bobby the most. Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) rose from the shop-floor to become one of the seniormost executives of GTX. Pushing 60 and not in the best of health, a fresh job search is likely to be the toughest on him. Gene Mc Clary (Tommy Lee Jones), an ex board member with millions in stock upon severance, has enough going for him to not feel the pinch economically, but has an uncertain future nevertheless. Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner) is doing all that he can to keep the company afloat. With consequences ranging from the tragic to those that promise hope for the future, the movie is a timely one that focuses on the psychological impact of unemployment

13.5/20

Inside the Catastrophe

Matt Damon – yes, the man who slammed Sarah Palin, and went all-out in the search for the truth behind the war on terror in Green Zone (albeit only on celluloid) continues his exposes on the issues that matter, slamming the investment banking fraternity in Inside Job. The opening scene on the economic fall of Iceland is successfully attention-grabbing. The documentary moves on to a five-part series on capitalism gone berserk. While the facts are well-known, the squirming economists with their ill-founded thought leadership on the free markets accompanied by their obvious conflicts of interest, and the lobbyists, and the long line of individuals who refused to be interviewed for the film – are a telltale reminder of what has come to pass as the adverse consequences of deregulation. Collectively, the all-star cast (largely politicians, bankers, academics, and thought leaders) reinforce the rationale behind the title of the film. For those with no time (or patience) for Too Big To Fail (book) or its likes, this is one of the more comprehensive snapshots of the Great Economic Crisis of 2008

15.5/20

Time Stands Still

The smartly up-and-coming Jake Gyllenhaal, as Colter Stevens, has his work cut out shuttling back and forth between an indeterminate living state, and “projection” into the last eight minutes of the existence of a Chicago-bound train. Over successive rounds of moral suation, exhaustion, and growing attachment to one fellow passenger Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan), Colter Stevens is tracking down his quarry – the erstwhile bomber on the train, who currently has larger targets on his mind. However, if Colter Stevens succeeds at this novel form of time-travel detective work, does it mean eventual commercialization of the technology behind Source Code, or an ending that would be closer to the audience’s heart? The movie adds nothing extraordinary or illuminating to the sci-fi genre, but is well-executed and quite a watch. In the meantime, Jake Gyllenhaal awaits his train to the next level in Hollywood to fully exploit his rather obvious thespian talent

14.5/20

Honor among Wolves

The ruthless salesmen of Morgan Brothers, led by Baker (Colin Egglesfield), have a newbie in their midst – Daniel Seaver (Brian Greenberg), an ex military man, a self-confessed introvert, and an incongruous reader of Dickens and Tolstoy in the world of cut-throat investment banking. But, in a world where “everybody has an angle”, it is not easy to figure out who, if anyone, is The Good Guy. While Baker’s latest girlfriend Beth (Alexis Biedel) clearly has a growing fondness for Daniel, there is much more to the lives of some of the protagonists than meets the eye. A reasonably exciting drama, which I particularly liked because of the fairly accurate descriptions of investment bankers, and their psyche

12.5/20

Norse Gods – An Approachable Bunch

Scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings) and mentor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) are confronted with a strange weather phenomenon – an unexpectedly intense storm - and crash their vehicle into a man in its midst. The man turns out to be the god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) – banished from Asgard by father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) on account of needlessly waging war upon the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Thor needs to confront his scheming brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), get back to his ailing father and end his banishment, and deal with his growing fondness for Jane. While the movie begins with much promise, it concludes squarely as light entertainment. The casual banter of Thor and the gods with humans, and the easy transformation of Thor from arrogance to an empathetic self, are but a few pointers to the fact that this movie will be one of the really light interpretations of the Norse Gods and totally in line with the Marvel Comics character. Worth noting in passing that even the Gods seem to fall in love with Natalie Portman these days

11.5/20

Birds Beasts and Beastly People

The eponymous Rio plays out the story of Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), two Spix’s Macaws, the former a pampered pet from Minnesota, the latter a wild bird kept in captivity, in the city of the same name. The two are the last of their species and have been brought together to (hopefully) mate. Stolen by smugglers, the duo manage to escape into the rainforest, but are constantly constrained by the fact that Blu cannot fly, and also that the two are chained to each other. With the help of Rafael (George Lopez), the two birds get to Luiz (Tracy Morgan), but danger is not far behind, and the owners Linda and Tulio are also hot on the trail in their search for the missing birds. A riot of colour – an outstanding visual spectacle, and an entertaining children’s adventure. In the inevitable comparison, Rio does not capture the wry humour of Rango, but nor does it seek to – it is intended for a simpler audience, child or adult

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

The Beast Cometh

Longtime train engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) is training newly recruited conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) in the town of Fuller in northern Philadelphia. In the meantime, a combination of carelessness and unforeseen circumstance puts one freight train # 777 on a collision course with several others. A few other facts come to light as the situation unravels – the runaway train has no air brakes on, it is on full power, and – hold your breath – it has four containers of molten phenol – a highly inflammable and toxic substance that could decimate one of the many towns on its way. Will the Unstoppable train finally yield to the elaborate attempts to get marines on board to cut the power, or some old-school thinking and brave execution by the protagonists? Veers on edge-of-the-seat, appears technically sound without too much artistic license, and opens up the train-related adventure genre after a long spell of myriad Hollywood vehicular misadventures

13.5/20

Morning Crusade




Morning TV is kitschy, perk-you-up content that is not to the liking of much decorated veteran-of-many-Pulitzers-and-warzones journalist Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) – once a star, the IBS (channel) veteran now likes to keep his talent and his thoughts mostly to himself. So, in the tussle between Mike and Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams), the latter being the rookie IBS producer of morning show Daybreak trying to find her footing with a disillusioned team and a bottom-of-the-barrel show to manage, the expected outcome is somewhat foregone. Er.. not quite. Never underestimate the power of positive energy, which Becky carries to a superhuman degree, in rousing up the workplace and soporific old-timers. No wonder Becky rises to Morning Glory in her morning show fraternity, but will she eschew great offers for her new-found family? A charming and uplifting tale, albeit a slightly tall one.

12/20

Darjeeling?? Never mind.

This is not a 2010/ 2011 movie, but thought I would put in a little note in any case. A train that looks suspiciously like the Palace on Wheels, and travels entirely through scrubland and desert, incongruously named The Darjeeling Limited, is the focal point of the movie by the same name. The train is the meeting point of brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzmann). With misunderstandings of the past, including events related to their estranged and semi-ascetic mother, and their father’s funeral, on their minds, the trio spend a few days on the Indian subcontinent, in seeking bonding and certain inner realizations available in the Indian Subcontinent to occidentals. One can watch it as an apt precursor to Slumdog Millionaire, a movie made with equally amazingly miniscule empathy with India (with due leeway for the fact that the movie in question is principally intended to be a comedy), but one that nevertheless strikes a chord with an audience that is equally ignorant

7.5/10

No Way Out

Is there a way out of a lifetime of crime? Not in Charlestown, Boston, it appears. DougMacRay (Ben Affleck), longtime crook, leads a successful heist on a local bank, and then another, in The Town. But, life gets complicated as Doug gets romantically involved with one former heist hostage - bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). An uncertain relationship with an imprisoned father who never quite reveals the truth about why his mother left, and then the ghost of old relationships with people with whom he would rather not associate with any longer, further complicate Doug’s existence. In the meantime, the FBI have their quarry, but continually want for evidence. Unremarkable fare albeit well-executed, with fairly standard treatment of the subject matter

12/20

The King Speaks

The King’s Speech is a much-reviewed and much-awarded movie, and the toast of the awards season just past. A discussion as to whether it is deserving of such sweeping accolades is somewhat academic. What offsets the rather narrow subject matter is two aspects of the movie that make it absolutely memorable. The first is Colin Firth (King George VI) playing a King-elect and then a King with a stammering disability, his battle against it, and the tribulations and setbacks along the way. The second is the remarkable relationship between the King and his speech instructor Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) – born out of necessity and occasionally showing the consequences of a large class divide, with the (inevitable?) results and conviction eventually following. Forget the awards, it is these two reasons alone that make this movie eminently watchable. As to whether the movie is broad enough in scope to be a Best Picture Academy Award winner? Why does it matter anyway – you can watch Black Swan and The Fighter as well!

14.5/20

Dead Genre

Mary Shaw breathed life and unspeakable horror into inanimate ventriloquist's dolls. Dead Silence seeks, with the help of the long-dead Mary Shaw and her dolls of small-town Ravens fair, to breathe life into the near-dead horror genre. When wife Ella Ashen (Amber Valetta) is brutally murdered, husband Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) embarks on a fact-finding mission that delves into local lore, and is punctuated by much copybook horror sequences at motels, graveyards (!), and abandoned theatres. What could set this movie a bare notch above the mindless horror flick, is a few reasonably unexpected twists in the tale. A recommended movie only for those hellbent on picking on the last vestiges of an idea-starved genre

11.5/20

Such a Long Journey!

At long last, an adventure movie to crow about, in the copybook inspirational adventure genre. How far would you walk to escape the dreaded Siberian Gulag? To India?! In 1941, Polish prisoner of war Janusz (Jim Sturgess), hardened resident criminal Valka (Colin Farell), American actor Mr Smith (Ed Harris), and three other Gulag inmates – Voss (Gustaf Skarsgård), Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean), and Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky) – escape imprisonment in a labour camp in the Siberian Gulag, in The Way Back. The first step in a great southward journey is to reach Lake Baikal – a journey of months and hundreds of kilometers. On the verge of death by starvation and exposure, most of the escapees manage to reach the lake, where they are joined by Irena (Saoirse Ronan). Irene has a questionable alibi, but brings much needed morale to the team with her effervescent personality. In an unbelievable trek across snow, the plains, the desert and again the snow, will any of this unlikely band survive? The movie is based on a novel by Slawomir Rawicz, a Polish POW in the Siberian Gulag, and has the twin challenges of making an excruciating ordeal believable to an audience, as well as depicting emotional connect between a diverse group of individuals bound by the same challenge. It succeeds commendably on the former count, but falters somewhat in the latter – in the end, creating a striking end-product nevertheless, that is at the very least inspiring. Director Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Master and Commander, Dead Poets Society) does not do any injustice to his specialization of depicting the inspirational, across multiple settings

15.5/20

Gambling the Nation

Welcome to the workday of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) – that starts with explaining to himself – in the mirror as part of the morning ablutions – as to just why he is the hardnosed gut that he is, in Casino Jack. As a super-lobbyist Jack was willing to walk the fine line between justifiable promotion of others’ quasi-legitimate interest, and serving himself and his ego – and was to be found very often on the wrong side of it. Questionable advocacy of US offshoring circumventing minimum wage laws, and mispricing deals with American Indians for lobbying for the latter’s gambling rights on grounds of highly dubious benefits, were but some of Jack’s transgressions. The act comes to a halt in late 2004, and in 2006 Jack pleads guilty and the law takes over. While arguably not the best-made of movies, this one will strike a resonance with the anti-corruption crusade that seems to have taken over as our current national obsession at the time of writing, as an effective example of justice served even in the case of powerful defendants 13/20

Punched Down

If I interpret Sucker Punch as the generally mindless action entertainment genre, full of innuendo and game-like action sequences, the movie is a pretty solid achievement. On the other hand, if the movie was meant to be an insight into the overly imaginative workings of a girl’s mind, who is the victim of just about all the abuse and mis-accusations that a human can bear, this movie makes a mockery of Baby Doll’s (Emily Browning’s) condition. So, staying on middle ground, if the movie is simply an uncomplicated meshing of erotic action genre meets loosely scripted morality tale, this movie is a reasonably entertaining watch. Babydoll is institutionalized by her stepfather, in a mental institution. While in real life she mesmerizes audiences with a particularly erotic dance routine, behind the scenes she and a small band of fellow inmates plot an escape. Every stage of the execution of the plan is depicted as a clichéd action sequence played out in Babydoll’s overly active imagination. Zack Snyder unfortunately does not quite pull off this one into 300 and Watchmen-class exceptional category 12/20

Song and Dance

The appeal of the Great Indian Wedding to.. well.. Indians is obvious. What is unexpected is finding a different angle into a hackneyed topic. Enter the new age wedding planner – a class of noveau entrepreneur that aspires to take their businesses from the couple-of-lakhs weddings to the multicrore palatial affairs that are the fodder for the Page 3 mill. In Band Baaja Baraat, Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) falls for Shruti (Anoushka Sharma) and the two start off a wedding planning venture. While success comes rather quickly, given a pretty potent blend of charisma, hard work and organizational skills, the personal soon starts getting in the way of the professional, and it remains to be seen if the dynamic duo can find some middle ground and get back on track for professional success. Smartly executed, and with a fresh and bubbly lead pair, watch this one for why the latter have become the talk of the town

12/20

Cat out of the Bag

Mendacity. Politely, lies and then damned lies. Brick Pollitt, favored heir of the Pollitt empire, lies to himself about why he is an alcoholic, and why he resists the affections of his beautiful wife Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor). Big Daddy Pollitt (Burl Ives) lies to himself about loving the family, as opposed to, well, owning them. And other son and daughter-in law Gooper and Mae (Jack Carson and Madeline Sherwood) are the very picture of pretentiousness as they make their rather obvious moves for the Pollitt empire. Cat on A Hot Tin Roof is set on Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, and, unknown to him but to the knowledge of his family – his impending demise. One by one, through intense bursts of dialogue, all the truth comes tumbling out of the closet. Brick’s self-loathing and guilt on account of blaming himself for the death of a friend, is revealed only through the dialogue with Big Daddy. In the meantime, the relationship between Brick and Maggie move towards the mend, even as the brother and his wife’s true intentions are glaringly revealed. The emoting is generations from what modern audiences would expect, but the story in no way appears theatrical - it is a fairly believable account of what can befall a family if each member is clouded by his or her own self-seeking goals. And Maggie pulls off an understated and brilliant performance as one who has her heart, her past and her little white prevarications all in the right place

14/20

Freeze this

Let me tell you about a movie, newly released, called Frozen, wherein three young adults get stuck in a ski lift in the bitter cold. A series of improbable circumstances mean that their predicament is not known, and they are likely to be frozen stiff over the next week or so. After much conjecture the truth hits them that they are not about to be rescued. Braving the height (of the ski lift from the ground) and looking for rescue, the most intrepid of the trio jumps – and breaks both his legs. He meets a gruesome fate (thanks to the natural predators that abound ski slopes), and is not the only one to end thus. In the end, the only survivor is rescued, and will possibly never end up on a ski slope again. Nor me, with this movie. And yes, I do get the message about being duty-bound to be scared of ski lifts and black swan events on my next ski trip

9/20

Spectacular.

I watch hundreds of movies a year. Most rate a bit above 10, simply because all the movies pass through some degree of pre-selection. A rare movie makes it past 15. Only occasionally there comes a movie that reminds us of all that is great about movies per se – so brilliant is the theme, so perfect the execution, and so absorbed and perfect the key characters in their roles. It is in this vein that I shall desist from a lengthy review of Black Swan. It is Nina Sayers’ (Natalie Portman’s) role of a lifetime, but only because she has the canvas for the same in this surreal movie. So, a brief. Nina is the quintessential White Swan in “Swan Lake” her New York ballet troupe, but can she make a Black Swan too? Enter Lily (Mila Kunis), the natural Black Swan – a night of debauchery and hallucinations ensues – and Nina finds herself teetering at the edge of being the Swan Queen. Further hallucinations and a magnificent and tragic performance round off this spectacle. Like many great movies, this one is hard to put into words. Darren Aronofsky uses elements of melodrama, split personalities, and incredibly difficult character portraits to put together this once-in-a-lifetime movie

18/20

Test of Nerves

It is the ultimate test for the ultimate contestants. All eight of them, packed into a room with pencil and paper, and not knowing what the test could possibly be. Exam is not so much about decoding what the content of a particular evaluation process is, as it is about personalities. It is a test of how different people react to a specific circumstance – quiet resignation, logical thinking, violence, anger – and how such a process can be used to select winners from losers. For a movie that is shot in a single room and has an ever-decreasing cast of characters, this one comes through rather nicely

14/20

Spit on it

Why do I even bother reviewing such movies?! I Spit on Your Grave is a 2010 remake of a 1978 movie – suffice to say that the latter ranks in the Top 10 Ridiculously Violent Movies by Time Magazine. Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) finds herself a quiet corner in the woods to finish writing her book. Her paths cross with a bunch of depraved locals including a crooked sheriff, and what follows can only be described as gorno – graphic rape followed by graphic revenge. It would perhaps be for the best if such movies were banned – the kind of taste that this kind of movie implies cannot possibly be healthy

7.5/20

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

After the Flood

Among the various better-documented paranormal phenomena would be near-death experiences, and the subsequent connectivity that people with such experiences supposedly have with the dead. At the heart of Hereafter there are just three characters (and I don’t mean director Clint Eastwood, producer Steven Spielberg and writer Peter Morgan). Marie Lelay (Cecile de France) almost dies as the tsunami hits Thailand – and the subsequent changes in her have profound consequences upon her work and relationships, as she embarks to write a book about her experience. George Lonegan (Matt Damon) is a San Francisco based reluctant psychic, a man running away from his gift and the psychological consequences of communicating with the dead, even as he is not quite stably employed. Marcus (Frankie McLaren and George McLaren) cannot cope with the death of brother Jason and looks for ways and means to communicate. The paths of all three cross unexpectedly in London – with the hope of positive outcomes all round. Well-executed like all Clint Eastwood fare, sensitive and touching in parts, and a good watch all round, though never crossing into exceptional territory as Eastwood has done so often

13.5/20

Better than a Life of Despair..

Deadbeat professor John Brennan (Russell Crowe) steps out for dinner with wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks), where the latter has a face-off with her boss. The next thing he knows – the boss is found murdered, and all the evidence points to his wife. Facing life imprisonment with stoic acceptance, Lara has not reckoned with the resourcefulness of her husband. After failing with lawyers and the right side of the law, John obsesses with getting Lara out of prison – and the country – by any means possible. The next few months are a blur of delirious effort, the horror of near-misses coupled with near-penury, and finally - when something is required by The Next Three Days, a breakthrough. But breaking out of prison is one matter – will the couple be able to re-unite with their child and find their way out of the United States? The extraordinary movie slows towards the middle to let the viewer soak in the consequences upon a family of justice denied, and then switches to a dramatic conclusion. Paul Haggis of Crash, Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale fame pulls off an extraordinary movie –the extent of improbability of the escape cannot be better captured than by the quote from Don Quixote used in the movie – “'If we choose to exist in our own reality, are we insane? And if we are, isn't that better than a life of despair?'”. And Russell Crowe on his part shows all of the quiet resolve that made the likes of Cinderella Man and A Beautiful Mind such extraordinary movies

16.5/20

The Siege of LA

Yes, (at the time of writing), it’s in the multiplex and yes you will not go wrong on this one! So this is another alien invasion, and the aliens have taken over Los Angeles. Battle Los Angeles swings between Skyline-style terrifying, to Independence Day style melodrama, and lots of action in between. Where the movie does not go wrong are the Black Hawk Down-meets The Hurt Locker style urban battle sequences. With Ssgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) well-supported by his multi-ethnic company including the spunky action heroine Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez), this movie will keep you occupied with excellent action cuts interspersed by reasonably convincing stock-taking on the futility of it all, and other similar clichés

13.5/20

Monsters (?)

No matter how hackneyed the theme, an effort at an authentic rendition of a situation, and the people affected by the situation, has an appeal all of its own. First, the context. A probe to detect extraterrestrial life crashes over Mexico. Six years later, the whole of northern Mexico is a dangerous quarantine zone, infested by Monsters, with barbed wire fencing to the south and The Wall protecting the United States to the North. It is against this backdrop that cynical journalist Scoot McNairy (Andrew Kaulder) is given the task of escorting beautiful American tourist Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able) to the safety of the USA. A plan to take the ferry to the States goes all wrong, and the trip across the Infected Zone has unexpected consequences for the duo, and their perception of the persecuted monsters. The distinguishing feature of the movie is the effort at authentic scenes of Mexican life affected by the infestation – a cart carrying off a jet engine, monsters in graffiti and children’s drawings, children wearing gas masks as a way of life. Touching in parts, and engaging in full, this is not your average alien-buster Hollywood flick

13.5/20

Heist with Twists

Generous brushstrokes of noir and well-chosen sepia tinted scenes and soft lighting are an unexpected canvas for The Hessen Conspiracy, a World War II whodunit. Jack Durant(Billy Zane) and Lt. Kathleen Nash (Lyne Renee) fall for each other, and for the crown jewels of Princess Sophie of Germany. While the extrication of these jewels to the United States is rather cleanly orchestrated, how does the couple get legitimacy over the jewels and get the wartime police off their backs? And are they truly with one another, or is it that they are looking to double cross each other? The movie manages to generate a surprising degree of suspense even as it maintains its retro feel.

13/20