Adamant(ium) with Japan

Here is a prequel that is unabashedly made for Japanese audiences. With a few skirmishes with Yakuza gangsters and atop bullet trains thrown in for effect in the balance this prequel feels more like a Japanese sitcom with the occasional technological gizmo, or odd ninja, thrown in. Using just about every stereotypical element that one can imagine in a movie that is wholly set in Japan, The Wolverine is unmitigatedly directionless and needs to trail off with the promise of the return of the X-Men for any impact at all

10.5/20

House Down Part Deux

What were the odds of two near-adjacent posts on this blog, both based on movies about the White House going down? This time it is the disgruntled weapons lobby, led by the US President Sawyer’s (Jamie Foxx) former head of security detail – Martin Walker (James Woods) – and a team of mercenaries – that take over the White House over a series of bombings, gunfights, and hostage-takings. Once again it is up to an underdog – out-of-favour Cale (Channing Tatum), out on an ostensibly harmless White House tour with daughter Emily (Joey King), to save the White House and by implication the world. White House Down is a tad more believable than Olympus Has Fallen, with a lot more detail, and never a dull moment

13/20

Pacific Threats

Gigantic sea creatures called the Kaiju come through the Breach – a portal at the bottom of the Pacific – and start devastating cities along the Pacific Rim. Manking designs the Jaeger (robot) program to take on the Kaiju – and succeeds. Till the Jaeger program finds itself questioned, and competing with the Wall, and failures of the Jaegers to take on the particularly larger and more difficult of the Kaiju. However, when the Wall shows the proverbial cracks, and it is again the Jaegers that hold back the Kaiju in Sydney, it is back to the remnants of the Jaeger Program, led by a marginalized Pentecost (Idris Elba), and a notable robot – Gipsy Danger – driven by Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako (Rinko Kikuchi), to save the day and the world. In the words of Del Toro himself, this is no "super-brooding, super-dark, cynical summer movie", and the focus is purely on "big, beautiful, sophisticated visuals". In that he succeeds, but one cannot help feeling that the execution could have been just a little bit better with a little more development of the human characters, especially given the backdrop of shared adversity

13.5/20

Suited to Kill

Suits (TV Series) is the story of the eponymous New York city law firm Pearson Hardman, centered around precocious kid Mike Ross (Patrick J Adams) and mentor and fast riser Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). With the support of Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), and a few allies including rookie Rachel (Meghan Markle) and spunky secretary Donna (Sarah Rafferty), the duo take on unusual client cases, and the likes of disgruntled partner Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). Suits is a fun watch, perhaps with a weaker cast than say Boston Legal, and weaker cases too – but then Suits makes do… by and large

13.5/20

Another Falling

Out-of-favour Presidential security guard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself pitted against a veritable army from North Korea, that somehow manages to mobilize an inconceivably large quantity of people, arms and ammunition, and lays siege to the White House. Full of as many inexplicable moments as there are gun battles (President's son rescued, yet President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) meekly hands over the Cereberus code; the Cereberus code and their failsafes are located in the same physical location - and would  instantly set off the entire US nuclear arsenal when called upon (!!!); the strange and incongruous motivation of Forbes to side with... er... North Koreans), and with a more than decent cast and screenplay trying to rescue an impossible-to-justify storyline, Olympus has Fallen singularly fails to make sense, let alone impress

10.5/20

Welcome to the Planet

Man of Steel owes its excellent execution of a hackneyed genre to some spot-on casting, and a Superman that cuts across a wide swath of dramatic turns - from saving cities and counterattacking aliens in space, to being mama's boy in a remote corner in Kansas. Superman/Clark Kent/ Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is supported particularly well by one Lois Lane (Amy Adams) of insatiable curiosity, and father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) who lives on in spirit - and as an uploaded intelligence over time. The story begins with Jor-El defying usurper General Zod (Michael Shannon) and transporting Kal-El through space to Earth. The same Earth, that becomes the target for Zod as he resurrects himself, and tries to terraform Earth into a Krypton-like world, and wipe out the human race in the process. Hopefully, Kal-El will find the humanity to bridge the races rather than have one survive at the expense of the other. Excellent rendition of a copybook franchise, and a near-unmissable summer entertainer

14.5/20

Dark Horses

Four magicians - Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley (Isla Fisher), Jack (Dave Franco) and Merritt (Woody Harrelson) - get a mysterious summons that is later found to be from one Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine). The four maricians form the Four Horsemen - who put up a show in Vegas that unbelievably has a man from teh audience rob a bank in Paris, and distribute the largesse to the attendees. The act of crime, however benevolent, does not go unnoticed, and the quartet soon find tenacious detectives Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and Alma (Melanie Laurent) hot on their trail. But is that really an accurate picture of the goings-on, or, in the true nature of magic, are we seeing less the closer we get? Now you See Me is no The Prestige, but what it lacks in dark noir intensity, it more than makes up in a never-a-dull-moment script with a cops-and-robbers sequence interspersed by some pretty spectacular magic shows

14/20

The Destructive Side

The likes of Robin Cook have continually explored the thin line between going the extra mile for patients versus the pressures of big medicine. When Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a depressive patient, is prescribed a new anti-depressant medication on advise of her psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), the consequences are devastating for Emily and her husband Martin (Channing Tatum). As Emily ostensibly grieves over her murdered husband, Jonathan tries to piece together facts that have derailed a promising career, especially the role of Victoria (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Emily’s previous psychiatrist. Side Effects is less about the side effects of medication, that the side effects of all-pervasive and destructive ambition within the medical fraternity

13/20

Future Shock

Even as the world has not quite gotten over Shyamalan-bashing, Shyamalan himself has moved on to a reasonably good piece of work in After Earth. The Pursuit of Happyness showed the intense father-son pairing of Will Smith and Jaden Smith. After Earth takes us to the same pairing. A spaceship carying the duo crash-lands on a (now abandoned by humans) Earth. With lead Will Smith (Cypher Paige) incapacitated, son Jaden Smith (Kitai Paige) is entrusted with a perilous mission to cross a hundred kilometers of hostile terrain to activate an emergency beacon. With an Earth that is perhaps labeled a tad more hostile than the way it has evolved, and friends and enemies alike in nature, Kitai has to battle a plethora of calamities and a paucity of resources, and draws upon generous doses of inspirational pep talk to get to his objective. A movie that has, at the time of writing, faced the harshness of (clearly undeserved) extreme reviews

13/20

The More Things Change

New York, 1922. The delirium of bull markets gone wild. The newly rich Jay Gastby (Leonardo DiCaprio), in the aftermath of the First World War, and a blurry past, throws the biggest parties in town, all to catch the attention of the object of his affections – Daisy (Carey Mulligan) – wedded to old money and deep-rooted pride - Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). The Great Gatsby would be remembered for exceptional cinematography, costume design, perhaps even special effects. What I cannot grant it is creating an exceptional cast of convincing characters that truly capture the essence of their inter-relationships, and the capricious spirit of their time, at a level of skill that does true justice to the iconic novel

11.5/20

Race It

Wanted fugitives Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) get a new lease of life as they are asked by Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to take out a criminal organization led by Owen (Luke Evans) in exchange for clearing their criminal records. Its time for showdown in (mainly) London – with fast cars and a bevy of beauties – including Mia (Jordana Brwester), an estranged Letty (Michelle Rodriguez – permanent female Hispanic lead action fixture), Gisele (Gal Gadot) and the turncoat Riley (Gina Carano). Spellbinding (though logically and scientifically inexplicable) action sequences and engaging car chase scenes – watched this one in a paid preview – yes, was on fast forward, much like everything else in Fast & Furious 6. Not to forget, the movie ends with a cameo by Jason Statham (no less) in Tokyo – the promise of much more to come

13.5/20

An American Nightmare

Fresh-off-boat from Pakistan, Changez (Riz Ahmed) finds a quality education, the girl of his dreams (Erica (Kate Hudson)) and a career of his dreams on Wall Street, in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It is post 9/11 that the dissonances between what he has left behind and what he has become tear apart Changez’ life. A humiliating strip-search at the airport. A buyout mandate that displaces – renders redundant – a Turkish publisher who is the keeper of the works of many poets, including Changez’ father. A girlfriend who turns around and makes a public exhibition of private vignettes of the relationship with Changez. Perhaps it is time to return to the country of birth and try and improve matters. But, is it also time to give in to the dark clouds of radicalism that hover around Changez. The question lingers in the air, even as the movie trails off with the inevitable real conflicts between the two worlds that Changez traverses

12.5/20

Save the Forest

A dismissive Katherine (Amanda Seyfried) comes to visit her father Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), who is apparently obsessed with the war between the Leaf-Men – led by Ronin (Colin Farrell) – protectors of the forest – and the Boggans – destroyers of the forest – led by Mandrake (Christoph Waltz) – all of which Katherine considers figments of her father’s imagination. The Boggans go one up on the Leaf-men by taking out the Queen of the forest (Beyonce Knowles), and it is up to a (much-diminished) Amanda and her father to bring in some timely intervention and save the trees and those that, well, protect them. Based on William Joyce’s The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, Epic is the children’s movie for the ongoing summer holidays – not breathtaking or deep, just pretty well made

13.5/20

Darkness and Light

In Star Trek – Into Darkness, JJ Abrams scripts a taut thriller that is centered around a former starship captain – Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) gone rogue – rather than the hackneyed alien encounters of old. Apart from saving the introductory planet through dazzling special effects, and one minor Klingon encounter, there is no long drawn alien engagement. Rather, it is James Kirk (Chris Pine), and Spock (Zachary Quinto) coming to terms with their personalities, their relationship, a misguided leader in Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller), and of course the great Khan threat. The special effects are expectedly mindblowing, including possibly the first instance of the equivalent of base jumping in space. This is a different Star Trek, with more overtones of terrorist threats and dual personalities, than the copybook 20^th century Star Treks and their extra-terrestrials

14.5/20

Treasured

What would you do if you had a little treasure trove, like Pishima – or her ghost – did, say all of 5 kilos of gold? Would you bury it in hate and spite, use it as a tool for maintaining primacy and engendering conflict, driven by the ghosts of your own sad and troubled past? Or would you, over time, start believing in the goodness of human nature and start using the treasure trove to enable someone to start a business, re-unite a family, perhaps even fight for a cause? And all the while acknowledging the little voice inside you that well, encourages you to do otherwise. And this is where Goynar Baksho (The Jewellery Box, Bengali) pulls off an unexpected success, and even as the movie dilates and constricts rather asynchronously in parts, the central theme is rather well established

13/20

Crude but Effective

The overprotective Neanderthal caveman Grug (Nicholas Cage) finds his match in daughter Eep (Emma Stone) who is anything but amenable to being kept indoors (or in a cave, as it may be). It takes the intervention of the inventive and vastly evolved boy Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a precocious early man who invents fire, prognosticates the end of the world - fairly cataclysmic and disruptive tectonic events - that force  The Croods to change their habitation and their very way of life. Without the intensity of the likes of Wall-e and Finding Nemo, The Croods is nevertheless an effective and exciting watch and quite the unmissable one for children this summer

13.5/20

Man of Iron

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is Iron Man, in Iron Man III, with or without the eponymous battle suit. Faced with the challenge of the unknown Mandarin, Tony Stark must save Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), right hand man  James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and the entire US leadership - after challenging the Mandarin to open combat. The journey takes Tony Stark to faraway Tennessee and the combat between the once-spurned villian Adrian Killiach (Guy Pearce) and his nefarious scheme, and our superhero, is as intense as it has ever been in the Iron Man franchise. Iron Man III delivers, and delivers well, and for some reason trails off with Mark Ruffalo and the promise of more to come

13.5/20

Oblivious Workers

Jack (Tom Cruise) and Julia (Andrea Riseborough) work out of an earth-based station to protect installations that mine sea water for energy production. It is a ravaged earth, with a few survivors (scavs, short for scavengers) kept in their place by droids. Jack’s undying curiosity, leads him to rescue Julia (Olga Kurylenko), who he finds to be his wife. Things are not quite what they seem, and an ostensibly hostile encounter with the scavs including their lader Beech (Morgan Freeman) leads him to discover the reality behind his existence, and the role played by Sally, the intelligence that has assigned Jack and Julia (s?) their roles. Oblivion is entertaining, but has borrowed liberally from Moon (clone-based mining) and Independence Day (destroy an intelligence hovering over earth bent on annihilating mankind). Notwithstanding the obvious sources of inspiration, a good if not quite edge-of-the-seat entertainer

13.5/20

GI makeover

The all-American franchise quickly dumps Duke (Channing Tatum) in the wild wastes of Pakistan, and the Rock takes over from there. In their biggest challenge yet, surviving Joes Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (DJ Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) team up with Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Jinx (Elodie Yung) and unexpectedly Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), to take out the threat of Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and an impostor US President (Jonathan Pryce), bent on doling out annihilation – nuclear or otherwise. The Nuclear Summit involving all key heads of state becomes the battleground for the final showdown between good and evil, with much noise and fanfare and pump-up music. Oh, and an honorable mention to General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis), apparently the founding father of the Joes. Watch GI Joe: Retaliation for nothing in particular besides well-executed action sequences

12/20

Witch of Them is It?

Small-time Kansas conjurer Oz (James Franco) finds himself whisked off to the land of Oz – where three beautiful women – Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams) – play a veritable whodunit in terms of who among them is the Wicked Witch. Suffice to say that while Oz – The Great and Powerful – does not do disservice to L Frank Baum’s original, it is markedly different – in particular, invoking the great Thomas Alva Edison and a different kind of magic in 20^th century science. Well taken, and contemporary enough overall to be relevant

13.5/20

Full of Beans

With a few smartly crafted twists and turns, Jack the Giant Slayer is the story of Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a spunky if somewhat distracted farm-boy, his muse the Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), and a few knights of the realm of Cloister – notable among them the honorable Elmont (Ewan Mc Gregor) and the nefarious Roderick (Stanley Tucci). When a small escapade leads Jack to possess certain beans, and his paths cross with that of a princess bent on escaping the confines of her castle, the two embark on an unlikely adventure that faces up to the Kingdom of Giants, the stuff of fables brought to a grim reality. Quite the children’s entertainer, and never a dull moment - mostly

11.5/20

Rising, hopefully

What drew me to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight was their indisputable clarity - the clean fine execution and character sketches in taut plots. And that is precisely where I lost it with The Dark Knight Rises. The sheer clutter of a "decommissioned" Batman, the wiles of a Cat-woman, the inevitable comparisons of Bane (Tom Hardy) to the inimitable Joker (Heath Ledger) in the preceding edition - all of it, for the non-diehard Batman fan, was really a smorgasbord of events and characters that left anything but an indelible impression. What a mishmash to end one of the best series of all time. Expectedly, the movie drew praise from viewers and critics alike - the perils of a cult fan following that is all too willing to live the moment and forgive all

10.5/20

Birth of a Nation

Lincoln is, quite simply, one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. In Lincoln, Daniel Day Lewis does not play Abraham Lincoln, he is Abraham Lincoln, living, breathing, taking decisions, running a family. The leadership qualities of Lincoln come to the fore as he balances ending a war and abolishing slavery, with a few decisions that err towards choosing the greater good and associated realpolitik. This is a movie for posterity, and one for your collection. Suffice to say that I cannot remember a movie in memory that moved me quite as much, Steven Spielberg dramatic effect notwithstanding

17.5/20

Robber, Robbed

Master of heists Will Montgomery (Nicholas Cage) does what he needs to do and injures fellow partner in crime Vincent (Josh Lucas) in an attempt to flee a crime scene without any collateral damage. Will however does not make it far, and, after eight years of incarceration, looks forward to being re-united with daughter Alison (Sami Gayle). Vincent has other plans, however, and a highly skeptical FBI led by Tim Harlend (Danny Huston) does not help either. With a little help from ex-con-woman Riley (Malin Akerman), Will races against time and the ghosts from his past. Stolen is your average unmemorable entertainer that is easy on the eye and your time, without even remotely aspiring towards the spectacular

11.5/20

Non Sleazy Sex Line

 

 

What happens when two single women in New York need to pool their resources, post layoffs breakups and other assorted tragedies, and find themselves a place to live. Simple – they start a sex chat line to start paying the bills. Well, on that front, Katie Steele (Ari Graynor) is the original entrepreneur, and Lauren (Lauren Miller) is the initially reluctant but eventually highly successful partner. The line of business, expectedly, does not sit well with parents and sundry others, and fights ensue between the partners as well. For a Good Time Call is a light take on using unconventional means to get by, and on friendship. And while not an outstanding movie by any means, it is definitely not titillating as the suggestive title would imply

 

11.5/20

 

 

Flagging Race

Race 2 moves fast, entices, glitters with Jacqueline Fernandez and Deepika Padukone glam, but does not captivate. Ranvir Singh (Saif Ali Khan) is on a  revenge trip against Turkish don Armaan Malik (John Abraham), but whether Armaan’s girlfriend Omisha (Jacqueline Fernandez) and sister Elena (Deepika Padukone) are friend or foe, are to be determined over the course of the movie’s many twists and turns. In the end, Race 2 is an entertainer that does not quite live up to its hype

11/20

Power in Grey

In the power plays in an ad agency, ad maven Rahul (Arjun Rampal) and protégé Maya (Chitrangda Singh) turn competitors and lovers. Even as they get into daily workplace skirmishes, the tension between them manifests itself in an ugly sexual harassment lawsuit. Inkaar is not about taking sides in the “sexual harassment in the workplace” debate. Rather, it is about two individuals, drawn by mutual attraction and shared levels of ambition, yet pitted against each other in the typical Darwinian workplace. Some pretty demanding character acting sets this one apart – though in the end the movie trails off rather inconclusively. Inkaar has been generally poorly received, a fact that does not do justice to the rather intense performances by the two not-so-seasoned leads

12/20

Rise of Innocence

 

Do you believe in Jack Frost? How about Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Rabbit, and Sandman? It is when the innocence of children believe in these, that they come to pass. Else, they disappear. And what of Pitch, aka the Boogeyman? Again, the belief of children alone makes it come to pass, or otherwise. Together, the Guardians must defeat Pitch, who is out to basically steal from children the very essence of childhood – the sense of wonder. What stands out in Rise of the Guardians is the truly exceptional visual effects. The quality of production herein is truly outstanding, which keeps it from becoming just a children’s fable at the theater and keeps the adults – well, believing. A must watch for children that parents will enjoy as well

14/20

Chulbule II

The irrepressible Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan), now hitched to wife Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) is now posted in Kanpur, where he continues his streak of doing the right acts for the wrong reasons. Replete with item numbers and catchy one-liners, Dabangg 2 however does not quite pack the element of surprise that was Dabangg. Nevertheless, it has been quite successful, commercially (expectedly) and is apparently leading to a prequel that explores the origins of Chulbul Pandey

11/20 

More ghosts of Bengal

Close on the heels of Bhooter Bhobishyot, a fairly successful spook movie in Bengali, comes Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy, a bouquet of three ghost stories directed by none other than Sandip Ray. A seasoned spook-watcher hits the trail in North Bengal on an overnight stakeout. An avid reader reaches out to a friend for spending a day in an erstwhile English mansion, where a rumoured ghost called Simon does the haunts. An author in search of solace and inspiration comes across a ghost with an agenda, and much treasure instead. Simple and unpretentious, reasonably original, and good for a single viewing

12/20

 

Fixed Gear, Steel Frame, No Brakes

 

 

It is hard to come up with a genuinely interesting and never-a-dull-moment script centered around the all-too-familiar New York, and car chases. So, Director David Koepp changed the game – and speeded up things by making them slower – on bicycle, in fact. Profiling the best-in-class NY bicycle messenger Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), on a Premium Rush – a high-priority dispatch – with a little help from girlfriend Vanessa (Dania Ramirez) and arch rival Marco (Sean Kennedy), Wilee outruns everything in sight – cars, people, other bicycles, and even stationary objects – as he helps one Chinese student Nima (Jamie Chung) re-unite with her daughter. Get ready for an unexpected rush from this under-rated movie

13/20

Brave Daughters and Bears

Mothers wish the best for their daughters, and the road to alienating children is almost always paved with good intentions. And thus it was with Elinor (Emma Thompson), mother of Merida (Kelly McDonald) of the Clan DunBrock, in the matter of a suitor for Merida. Little does Elinor know that Merida is a girl of her own mind, and the latter promptly rendezvous-es with a witch who gives Merida the means to transform her mother into a large black bear. The rest of the movie is a hilarious race against time to reverse the spell linor before the second sunrise (at which time the said spell becomes permanent), even while several clans - none too fond of bears - hunt the mother of the clan, in a glorious misunderstanding. Brave is one for the children from the inimitable Pixar, while not too juvenile to not have appeal for the parents

13/20

Wild Child

Rose (Emily Blunt) and her charming, thieving ways, tame the redoubtable Viktor (Bill Nighy), hired assassin with many scalps to his credit. When Rose pulls off a sale of a fake painting to one Ferguson (Rupert Everett), the latter hires Viktor to take her out – the assassin way, of course. Hilarious escapades with an ensemble cast in tow ensue, and the ending is not quite what the hired hitman’s doting mother Louisa (Eileen Atkins) might have liked. Quite amusing, the Wild Target and pursuer herein are fairly evenly matched

11.5/20

The Hopping Prince

 

 

 

“See something you like?”, asks the captive Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) coyly, as she hides the dagger that can reverse time, from our protagonist, the adoptive Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal). Very spunky and a little flirty, Tamina however does not steal the show from Prince Dastan, who pulls off the near-impossible – exposes a great treachery wrought upon his adoptive father King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), defeats the king’s treacherous sons Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell), and becomes the new regent of the kingdom. With no little help from the eponymous acrobatic skills of the Prince of Persia (The Sands of Time) and a little timely intervention from the dagger than can reverse time. Quite entertaining, and never a dull moment, this one went by almost unnoticed

 

12/20

Far Above the Misty Mountains Cold

 

Today, after a decade and then some some, a troop of all-too-familiar dwarves entered my house. Led by a wizard, of course. With them, I left the comforts of the Shire, and embarked on an adventure. Where, every turn of the page, in years bygone, had brought new experiences to cherish. We headed out, saw off trolls that had strayed afar, got much-needed albeit much despised help in Rivendell. We headed out from there, to repossess our Kingdom from Smaug. Again we saw off goblins and orcs, with a little help this time from the Eagles. And thus, with The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey – we are on our way. To a trilogy that is – however strangely – lagging LOTR – but so far, and as one has grown to expect, equally fascinating, overwhelming, and quite peerless in the world of movies. The unlikely combination of JRR Tolkein and Peter Jackson have created an alternate reality for me, something that I cannot quite put in the words of a bland little movie review

17.5/20

Recall, Run

Post World War III, the great oppressor of history – the United Federation of Britain (UFB) lords it over the Colony (loosely, today’s Australia) – and the latter send a daily retinue of workers to the former through a subterranean transport system referred to as the Fall. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), a nondescript worker from the Colony with an inexplicably stunning wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale), decides to go deeper into his mind to find an escape from daily monotony and a distraction from disturbing dreams that could well be memories. Quaid enters virtual reality – through Total Recall – as a secret agent. And here is where Quaid’s life blurs between fiction and reality – and even love interest Melina (Jessica Biel) and access to none other than Matthias (Bill Nighy) – the kingpin of the Resistance – could well be elements in a very elaborate virtual reality experience. Unlike its predecessor 22 years ago, this edition Total Recall leaves the viewer in some doubt as to fiction and reality, even as the action is as immersive as it could possibly be

13.5/20

Sick, telling

The one word that leaps to mind while thinking of Criminal Minds (TV Series) is “disturbing”. And you need look no further than just a couple of episodes of this successful TV Series to figure out why. Perhaps the written word will not suffice, but here is my take. Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), with second-in-command David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) leads a highly qualified team constituting profilers with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia, to solve crimes involving serial killings – usually of a violent, degenerate, and large-scale nature – in locations all over USA. Aiding them is the wonder woman Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), a genius at drawing associations between seemingly unconnected events, with the aid of a little technology. Executed with thoroughness, that does not flag between episodes – and I saw dozens – Criminal Minds is a must-watch – if, of course, you want to stomach it

15.5/20

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

In a puff of smoke

… Like much of the weed in the movie, goes my respect for Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. How could two Hollywood A-listers be caught dead in a movie like Ted? Here is an apology for a movie that I could tolerate for all of 33 minutes. So, John (Mark Wahlberg) was a lonely boy, and a shooting star grants him the wish of a lifetime – a talking – and soon-to-be-celebrity teddy bear (Seth McFarlane) for company. Novelty and a quality relationship fade with time, however. As John grapples with a dead-end job, the neither-here-nor-there relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis) that is on for all of four years, and the viewer is treated to more hash and hookers, and outright grossness, I decided it was time to can the movie and trash it here. No matter how it ends, jokes about Parkinson’s are not my idea of humor – in any form

7/20

Hotel Zing

Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) has made the perfect fortress - Hotel Transylvania - as a hideaway for darling daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) to protect her from the much-hated humans. Hotel Transylvania is a home away from home for many monsters, seeking refuge and safety from the world of humans. Enter Johnny (Adam Samberg), an intrepid backpacker (human, of course), who stumbles upon the hotel, and, after the first few bouts of surprise, completely settles in with the monster crowd. And with none more so than with Mavis - and the two start feeling the much-elusive zing in no time. What will it take for Count Dracula and the monster brood to leave the past behind, and to bless the unlikely relationship? Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky of the unforgettable Dexter's Laboratory fame, Hotel Transylvania is a fast-paced animation flick that will endear adults and children alike with its well-developed monster cast

15.5/20

Once more into the Fray…

 

 

In times when one’s existence in the real world is troubled, one watches a movie like The Grey. Simplicity itself. Ottway (Liam Neeson) leads six survivors of a plane crash – a rough and tough oil drilling crew – across the wilderness of Alaska towards possible safety. One by one, the grey wolves pick on them, decimating their numbers, apparently unmitigated by little heroic acts of bravery. So does man trump wolf or vice versa? The Grey simply suggests that it perhaps does not matter – “Once more into the fray. Into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day” – authored by none other than the director of the movie (Joe Carnahan). Yes, live and die on this day. Based on the novel “Ghost Walker” by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, The Grey is a stunning movie, elemental and stark. Like life at present – stark and elemental, and live and die on this day ergo, the rest of one's life

 

14.5/20

Naxalites for Dummies

Whoever knew that the life and times of Naxalites could be summarized in such stirring simplicity? Adil (Arjun Rampal) and Kabir (Bobby Deol) are inseparable friends - Adil being a police officer who is posted to Nandighat to bring a Maoist uprising under control. Lo and behold - Kabir, upon the request of Adil, nearly effortlessly infiltrates the Maoists and successfully provies intelligence that allows the Indian police to gain an upper hand in the conflict. Unsurprisingly, Kabir is not only moved by the stark reality of the marginal existence of the Naxalites, he is also besotted by one Naxal woman - Juhi (Anjali Patil). Inevitably, the paths of Adil and Kabir diverge, and move inexorably towards a climactic end. With one of the most unbelievably inane dialogues ever uttered in cinema, Rhea (Esha Gupta) also makes her presence felt ("Sorry Kabir"). Prakash Jha could have blazed a trail - Chakravyuh is at best ridden with holes. And that too on such a burning issue. Tch

9/20

One for the Soul

If Crash and Babel tried to - and, to much commercial and critical acclaim, did succeed in doing - work the theme of interconnected lives, Cloud Atlas takes it more than a step further, in interconnecting lives through different times in history. So it is that we find that an act of kindness in the South Pacific circa 1850, a musical piece (Cloud Atlas) conceived and composed by a penurious musical genius, an incident involving nuclear safety in the 1970s, the strange events in the life of a spurned publisher in England circa 2012, a clone's coming of age in Neo Seoul in 2144, and eventually the search and discovery of a better life beyond a bleak post-apocalyptic future - are not just intertwined - in a way, they are sequential. Directors Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer must be commended for holding it all together in an intelligible and emotionally charged movie. Quite moving, if not quite deep, Cloud Atlas is definitely worth a watch

14.5/20

Lost and Found

For me, Life of Pi was a yo-yo between overt romanticization of vignettes of Indian life and times by a non-Indian author, and a movie that has some seriously profound insights in spite of the same. The quaintness of a zoo in Pondicherry, finding religion, the mystique of Indian dance, the uprooting of a family owing to economic circumstances - all had an overtly lyrical, if not particularly original - aura. Then, suddenly, we find Piscine Molitor Patel aka Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) - a castaway in the middle of the Pacific ocean - with all his beliefs called into question. Is there a point to overt faith? Can a human and a large carnivore be (to borrow from Star Wars) symbionts? Where does a man who has lost everything find hope, and the will to move on with one's life? Somewhat if not profoundly moving, Life of Pi is about how we are shaped by our bouquet of experiences, and how, from those experiences, one can draw upon great reserves of strength

13.5/20

Phew!

And so The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn II - brings the series to a close - mercifully. While I do not even profess to understand what the series was all about, it seemed to me that the whole point of this movie was a confrontation between vampires and - you guessed it - more vampires - on a frozen lake. As to what the confrontation is all about - Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) are protecting their child - Renesmee Cullen (Mackenzie Foy) - from the Volturi. Outnumbered but in a tightly knit unit, the remarkable powers of the small resistance are put to a reasonably arduous test. But - nothing extreme. This, you see, is a patchwork romance and beyond a stunningly handsome/ beautiful cast, I suppose the rest is peripheral

9/20

Not so good anymore

 

Left high and dry by a cheating husband –State’s  Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), wife Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), decides to resurrect her 13-years-dormant legal career, joining law firm Stern, Lockhart and Gardner as a junior associate, pitted against competition a fraction of her age. With an incredibly complicated and competitive workplace, two children and a mother-in-law with their own complications, the fallout of the husband’s indiscretions, and the feelings towards law firm partner Will Gardner (Josh Charles) to contend with, it appears that just holding it all together will be a challenge for Alicia, let alone excelling. The Good Wife (TV series) holds together the complexity of the workplace, the family and public life splendidly – a TV series to  watch and remember for more than just a while

 

15.5/20

A Lesser Bond

 

 

Skyfall questions the need for a 007 almost from the word go. Knocks him off a train roof – a shot gone astray, and one that goes unrepented – on the outskirts of Istanbul. Dumps him in London, with his eponymous boss M under threat, and a world of clunky gadgetry replaced with the simple elegance of tracking devices and technology. Age and a declining constitution do not help either. Bond picks up his bearings and chases his quarry – agent gone rogue Silva (Javier Bardem) – into Shanghai, and then Macau. And finally back to good old England, where M liberally borrows from Ulyysses and frankly admits that “we are not the strength that in old days moved earth and heaven…” but promises to continue to “strive to seek to find and not to yield”… even as the climactic scenes drift towards the Scottish moors and the hints of a bleak history. Skyfall is interesting – disconcerting at first, because of its deliberate eschewing of flamboyance, but in the end fairly successful at keeping the franchise relevant

 

14.5/20

Theatrical Escape

 

In the 70’s, when the USA was less than popular with the newly anointed Khomeni and the Islamic radicals that had just taken over Tehran, six US nationals find themselves holed up at the Canadian embassy in Tehran. In a one-man mission led by CIA operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), the group attempts to flee Tehran under the guise of being a film crew filming a science fiction movie – Argo. So – does the group pull off a near-impossible – and barely sanctioned – escape? Argo may show up the fundamentalists of Iran as less than bright, but that is not the intent, really. A simple and well-dramatized sequence of events makes this movie worth the while

 

13/20

Lost and Found

A movie that is easy to explain! Here comes retired CIA Agent Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) with wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). In come the mafia – and after some accelerated sightseeing of the bazaars of Istanbul – take the wife and daughter hostage. Needless to say, the CIA will trump Albanian rouges no matter how well-trained the latter might be. It is only interesting that the same could possibly include grenades merrily thrown across rooftops in densely populated areas. I recall being mildly entertained while Taken 2 was on, but not much else.

 

10.5/20

Arb ‘em all

 

 

 

Everyone can cut a deal. Well, at least everyone who lives to see the end of the tale. Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is selling his self-made top-of-the-line hedge fund empire. A few hundred million dollars of accounting jugglery owing to some badly placed bets notwithstanding. Robert takes a late-night jaunt with mistress Julie (Laeticia Casta) – and a terrible road accident ensues, leading to Julie’s demise. The rest of the movie is about Robert holding on to the increasingly shaky prospects of keeping his family as well as the proposed sale on course, as the skeletons threaten to tumble out from the cupboard one after another. Arbitrage is an amoral story, perhaps intended to extract some modicum of sympathy for a profession much-maligned of late, in particular for one of its stereotypical New York protagonists

 

12/20