Shadows of the Mind

The first installment taught the audience to stick to deductive reasoning and not to be carried away by the (seemingly) occult. I am not sure what the second installment did, other than remind the audience of the theatrical elements so successfully used in the first installment. The predictive action sequences were hackneyed. The Europe-wide intrigue was anything but menacing. The incursion into Germany and chase sequences distinctly smelt steampunk way before WWI let alone WWII. In the end, we got a reasonably watchable thriller circa 1900, where the deductive reasoning element seemed to have headed to Brighton on holiday (or, case in point, shown in certain hurried sequences). Am not sure if Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows reeked of Cossacks, but it surely smacked of a light-touch and un-originality. And that too from Guy Ritchie. Tch

11.5/20

The Longest of leaps

The ever so predictable Adam Sandler deviates ever so slightly from the familiar canned humor to produce a surprisingly balanced movie in The Longest Yard. On the face of it, the script does not sound particularly exciting – Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) the ex-football star, disgraced for shaving points in a big game, finds himself serving a three year prison sentence for theft and drunk driving. Riled by the domineering practices of the prison guards, Paul decides to make a football team out of the inmates that will be more than pushovers for the prison guards’ tune up game. With a small core team, and on the way, picks up a coach in Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), and some valuable players on account of some personal bravado vis-à-vis the theatrically aggressive prison guards. And as the movie progresses towards the predictable climax in the nature of all sports movies, you realize that this is one movie that does balance humor, and old-fashioned inspiration, rather well

13/20

Change the Game

It takes a lot of conviction to bring a new technique – in this case, hardcode quantitative analysis to major league baseball – and then to stick by it. And what does “sticking by” really entail? Well, for a start, being a one-man proponent of a technique that requires the coach replaced, and many star players traded out for unknowns or perceived also-rans. It also means taking hard decisions all too often. So when Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) takes on the unenviable task of resurrecting the Oakland A’s, in the capacity of General Manager, his odds, to say the least, are pretty limited. And, in the tradition of sports movies, Billy makes something significant of that nothing – in his words, he makes a difference and leaves his very own indelible mark on the game – Moneyball. While the movie is generally tipped to go the way of the likes of The Blind Side and Invictus come Oscar night, unlike these predecessors, Moneyball does require a baseball gene to be appreciated, and does not resound with universal appeal

12/20

No one in Nome

For those not on a weekly diet of spooky movies, The Fourth Kind is reasonably creepy – i.e. reasonable enough to qualify as a science fiction horror movie without further qualification, while not quite spooky enough to make hairs stand on end, especially on a 21 inch screen. The premise is simple enough. A mockumentary (in the style of the Blair Witch Project) shows one Dr Abigail Tyler (Charlotte Milchard, and her younger avatar, Milla Jovovich) being interviewed on television, recounting her research into unexplained disappearances in Nome, Alaska. The movie weaves its way through pseudo-real footage, ancient languages (Sumerian!) making inexplicable appearances in Nome, and other reasonably copybook alien abduction routine. However, where the movie succeeds is (as mentioned earlier, if you are not brought up on a one-horror-movie-a-day routine) showing some disturbing footage that appears real, and makes you mildly curious about the strange goings-on in remote Alaskan towns

11/20

Blaze a Trail

In a movie that bears little resemblance to the eponymous TV series, Burn Notice – The Fall of Sam Axe finds US Marine Commander Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) shipped off to a dangerous mission in the jungles of Colombia. However, his mission to unearth the dangerous guerilla group Espada Ardiente (The Flaming Sword) does not quite lead to expected outcomes? How above-board is the outfit that he is working with? And how much of a terrorist group is the Flaming Sword, actually? While the skeletons tumble out of the closet one after another, the admittedly low-intensity action keeps the movie humming along. Truly unremarkable, even in respect of the surprises, and only redeemed by the periodic mild comic turns brought in by Sam Axe

10/20

Puncturing Lives

A needle stick is a regular occurrence across US hospitals – health workers getting accidentally pricked with patient needles – and diseases like AIDS and Hepatitis B spreading as a result. In addition, continued use of plastic, as opposed to glass, syringes, meant that re-use without sterilization was also leading to a large number of needless deaths especially in the poorer countries. So when Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) and Paul Danziger (Mark Kassen) and their small Texas-based personal-liability focused law firm take up the cause of scientist Jefferey Dancort (Marshall Bell) and his safety needle, their case, at the outset, seems to be quite in the clear. What the duo and their client have not reckoned with are the brute forces of the organized healthcare industry, and their deep reach into both the political and legal systems. With their law firm virtually on the brink of bankruptcy, and a somewhat wearied Paul increasingly pitted against an unrelenting Mike, does the duo actually manage to pull off a David-vs-Goliath? Post The Lincoln Lawyer, Puncture is the best law movie that I have come across, and in the nature of those (movies) that suffer without an exalted cast and special effects, vastly under-rated

14/20

Con the Con

A procurement of clothes in Lucknow for a trader, that’s entirely fictitious. A building sold in Delhi that is not even owned by the seller. A painting (Husain, no less) sold in Mumbai that is, well, not genuine. In all cases, there are (admittedly gullible) women and their entourages wronged, by con artist Ricky Behl (Ranveer Singh). Now three wronged and extremely dangerous women from three cities get together and field their trump – one delectable and persuasive salesgirl Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) to con the conman, in sunny Goa. However, as expected, things do not quite fall according to plan. The conman has oodles of experience and all the smarts required to outwit his avengers. However, in the nature of Bollywood heroes, he also has a heart of gooey mush. On the whole, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl is entertaining, while it admittedly defies logic in (many) parts

11.5/20

Another Mission Possible

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) begins Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol with a little help from his friends in getting out of a Russian prison. However, on a subsequent routine if difficult assignment in Russia, things go awry, and the IMF suddenly finds itself under Ghost Protocol – disavowed at the best of times, they are now on their own and behind enemy lines. Under the circumstances, the prospect of thwarting a warmonger’s evil plans to trigger a nuclear apocalypse seem remote indeed. Something that will necessitate a trip to Dubai and – hold your breath – Mumbai – to get things moving. This MI edition will stick in your memory for two distinct reasons. One is the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world – and some rather unforgettable feats related to the same. The other is our very own Anil Kapoor in a meaningful if comic role. Overall, in the copybook thriller mould, Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol does not disappoint, but does not attempt any transmogrification of the genre either 13.5/20

Clean Distant and Accurate

Whether it be the clinical kills of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) in Enemy at the Gates, or Private Jackson’s (Barry Pepper) Biblical utterations prior to every shot in Saving Private Ryan, or a terrified Stu Shephard (Colin Farrel) frozen in a Phone Booth, the sniper has always held a special place in our psyche inasmuch action movies are concerned. So when Chad Michael Collins (Marine Brandon Beckett) receives a summons to rescue a stranded European farmer in the midst of the wilderness of the Democratic republic of Congo, in Sniper - Reloaded, things do not quite go according to plan as an unknown – guess what – sniper – turns on the rescuers. Poorly reviewed and possibly a misdirected watch for most, I, on the other hand, shall rate this movie way higher given the genre is close to my heart. Expecting the general movie-going crowd to celebrate a sniper movie is – well – a long shot

12/20

Heart of a Warrior

Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is a deserter turned war hero, goes by his mother’s maiden name – Riordan - for a surname, and takes after his once-alcoholic father Paddy (Nick Nolte) as a natural born wrestler. Brother Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) is a family man and schoolteacher, who needs to get into the mixed martial arts (MMA) ring to prevent being dispossessed of his home. Warrior begins with a family wholly estranged, with members blaming each other for past wrongs suffered. And what better arena to bring out the family dirty linen in public than the fighting arena. And after they are through with a bevy of prize-fighters, the brothers – somewhat expectedly – go for each other. With emoting that is of hardly the highest standards, Warrior would have been a damp squib if the fight scenes were not so good, and with a generous dose of help from the unlikely combination of Captain Ahab and Beethoven. This is in some respects an un-missable movie, where in spite of a limp storyline, the sheer execution sets this movie apart

16/20

A Demon Wronged

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

15.5/20

Running Forward

When an African-American boy learns to outrun older white boys with his trophy of scavenged bottle-caps, one would hardly imagine that the same skill-set would lead to the emergence of none other than the great Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), one of the greatest running backs of all time in college football. Ernie plays for Syracuse, and (in the natural drift of great sports movies) leads Syracause to the Heisman Trophy and becomes a figure of great inspiration. The Express is not the no-holds-barred realism of Any Given Sunday, but rather the poetic inspiration of Remember the Titans. While a good watch, as sports movies go, it is not particularly differentiated

13/20

After Life and Death

Is Arcadia a place in Alaska that is the last human refuge in a planet over-run by zombies? And where does the omnipresent big brother – the Umbrella Corporation – fit into all of this? Maybe none of it matters. Resident Evil – Afterlife takes off from where the previous editions of the successful franchise have left off – i.e. killing zombies – to more zombie mauling. On to the (thin) storyline. Alice (Mila Jovovich) sets off on a search for Arcadia – and the search leads away from Alaska to Seattle – where she finds a bunch of human survivors, up against – you guessed it – hordes of zombies. But is that all that they are up against, or are they also on the periphery of another great Umbrella Corporation setup. A movie that delivers on its promise of being identical to all its previous editions, and wholesome if not quite family fun

12/20

How Horrible

Nick (Jason Bateman) has a psychotic boss in Dave Harley (Kevin Spacey) – the latter promotes himself into a post that he has been holding up to his subordinate as a carrot all the while. Dental assistant (!) Dale (Charlie Day) has a man-eater of a boss in dentist Julia (Jennifer Aniston) who is out to “deflower” him and end his relationship. Lastly, Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) has an unworthy inheritor in Bobby (Colin Farrell) for a boss, who is all out to run Kurt and the business to the ground. All the three, in a fit of frustration, decide to kill their bosses. But our protagonists here are hardly the experts when it comes to crime. So while they roll out their grand plans, beginning with surveillance and moving on to actual execution, almost everything that can go wrong does. The outcome, however, is reasonably logical, while surprising. With an all-star cast (of bosses), Horrible Bosses is a lighthearted take at the all-too-familiar reality of utterly intolerable workplaces

13/20

Conan the Second

The Cimmerian is back, in a significantly watered down version that sank – some would say unfairly – with very little trace, at the box office. Such is the punishment for those that take on the Governator and his cult movies, even after close to 30 years! On to the story of Conan the Barbarian. Born in the midst of a war where he loses both parents even as arch-enemy Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang) appropriates the last piece of a mask of power that will help him rule the world, the next few (say 20-odd) years of Conan’s (Jason Momoa) life are a blur. Post this, in a serendipitious encounter, Conan finally picks up the trail of the perpetrators. The rest of the movie is a series of skirmishes and minor battles as Conan and his pirates friends hack and cleave through the enemy in their quest to destroy Khalar Zym and rescue the pure-blood Tamara (Rachel Nichols). A decent watch in its own right, but just an action movie nevertheless – till the aura of the predecessor fades, there is no room for a new Conan

11.5/20

Bad Use of Time

Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) of the John Adams Middle School is not what you would call the quintessence of virtue. When she is not smoking pot in the car or getting wasted in the classroom even as the class is on an overdose of movies, Elizabeth is working assiduously towards all that is required to be done – fair and foul – to land herself a rich husband. When new teacher Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) becomes the competing object of affection between Elizabeth and fellow-teacher Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), it does not take long for the latter to figure out the nether depths that competition would stoop to. However, is this a morality tale, or does evil prevail… or does Elizabeth metamorphose – at least partially – into a better person? Bad Teacher is a marginal movie at best, only redeemed somewhat by the thespian abilities of Cameron Diaz

10.5/20

Live by the Sword

Its been a while since the Wolverine was a lanky young hacker in Swordfish. Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) wants a job done – and the incentives for down-and-out Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) are many – but, primarily, the possibility of reunion with his daughter. So Stanley gets called in – with cyber-crime enforcers hot on his trail, but never quite there – as Gabriel like his idol Houdini continues to keep one ahead of his pursuers, for most of the movie. However, is this yet another morality tale or do Gabriel and Ginger (Halle Berry) and the crew eventally pull off one of the largest cyber-robberies in history? Swordfish is a guns-and-chases copybook old school thriller that, while not quite edge-of-the-seat, is not a throwaway movie either

11/20

30*3 Minutes of Capers

Down-in-the dumps pizza delivery boy Dwayne (Jesse Eisenberg) and friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) lead a humdrum smalltown existence. Till fate decides to come knocking their way. A chance kidnapping by two small time crooks, and Dwayne and Chet, under fear of death, find themselves out to rob a bank for $ 100 grand. With a bomb strapped to Dwayne’s chest, no less. The movie turns to a series of mildly hilarious escapades with the very occasional touch of the outstandingly comic. With a few over-the-top characters, and rank amateur criminals playing their parts rather well, 30 Minutes or Less is about getting your life back in 10 hours or less, and having a few laughs along the way

11.5/20

Tintin’s Back!

When an animated Herge holds up a sketch of the old and familiar Tintin to his new-age avatar, the comparison between two eras of amination could not be more pronounced. First things first. The Adventures of Tintin will be an unadulterated commercial and critical success. This movie leverages off today’s animation capabilities to resurrect an iconic character. The story is a loose adaptation of The Secret of the Unicorn and while much is familiar –including the story of Red Rachkam vs Sir Francis Haddock, there is a lot else that has been introduced or tweaked in the plot including the introduction of much of the unforgettable cast of characters of the series (with the possible exception of Professor Calculus). Diehard Tintin fans will also have a field day spotting the many references and trivia in the movie in relation to other books of the series. The incendiary combination of Spielberg and Peter Jackson combine for a masterpiece, and you will relive the unabashed adventure that is the Tintin comic. Suffice to say – do not miss this one

16.5/20

The Human Detective

A tragedy in the family, many years ago, leaves Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub) bereft of family, with OCD, and out of the police detective force, but not shorn of his one-in-a-million detective faculties. With no pretensions to physicality – or even normalcy – Monk uncannily makes connections that no one can, with information that everyone has, and solves cases that befuddle one and all. One of the most successful TV Series of all time, Monk (the protagonist) is aided in no small measure by doting nurse Sharona (Bitty Schram) and the grudgingly admiring detective Leland Stottmeyer (Ted Levine). Monk is one of the best TV series you could possibly watch – and in its genre, while it misses the “analytical intensity” of say a CSI, its not-infrequent dark overtones steer it clear of the frivolity of other successful crime series’ such as Castle and Psych

16/20

Eagle One

Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) has clearly not seen movies of the likes of Centurion. Hence when his father disappears with the Roman Ninth Legion in a Britain infested with Celtic hordes, Marcus sets out to redeem the family’s honour, into a territory so hostile that, beyond Hadrian's Wall, it marks the end of the Roman Empire. Marcus sets out into North Britain with the fiercely clannish local slave Esca (Jamie Bell) and manages to connect with the past – however, it is utterly uncertain whether he will manage to achieve his objective of recovering the Roman Eagle from an unrelentingly hostile territory. This is a reasonable watch but in all fairness outclassed in its genre. Watch this when you have run out of period movies, including (the Pict-infested) Centurion

12/20

He Knows no Fear. He Knows No Danger. He Knows Nothing

Could not help inserting the catchy movie caption in the subject line. Johnny English Reborn carries on from where the previous edition had left off (and mercifully without any overtly emoting-challenged cast). The movie opens in Tibet, where English’s penance for an earlier failed mission is interrupted by an MI7 summons, to the great joy of fellow inmates at the monastery. The mission this time around – to protect the Chinese Premier. Expectedly, the story traverses many locales with the copybook laugh-a-minute slapstick humor firmly in place. Rowan Atkinson is clearly a niche by himself, and Mr Bean of the TV series has metamorphosed into a full-blown nearing-cult comedy personality

14.5/20

Tower of Righteous Actions

When investment manager and scamster Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda)’s Ponzi scheme goes down, so do the life’s savings of all the staff at his residential tower. Determined to get back what is rightfully owed to them, building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) forms a team with a mission to steal back what is rightfully owed to them, in a Tower Heist. Given their complete lack of criminal experience, the team also hires one out-on-bail Slide (Eddie Murphy). An elaborately planned heist unearths unexpected findings, but not before some improvisation and brushes with danger. In the end all ends well, in a regular light entertainer that does not disappoint nor overly succeed either

12.5/20

Selling at the Margin

In a not-so-irregular round of bloodletting in an unnamed Wall Street investment bank, Chief Risk Officer Eric Dale (Staley Tucci) is let go. While leaving the bank premises, he asks associate Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) to look at a model that he was working on – with the parting words – “Be Careful”. Peter passes up a night with the boys and completes the model – and realizes its catastrophic and immediate implications on the bank’s own risk positions. The rest of the night is an effort at assembling the bank’s top management and deciding on a de-risking strategy – nothing more than a “sell it all” diktat - and deliberating upon the consequences of the same on both the book and the bank’s reputation for years to come. Margin Call is an all-star, accurate, gripping insight into the cold-blooded world of investment banking, and the eventual dispensability of all those that are in it

15.5/20

On Benefits...

Headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis) closes an assignment with Dylan (Justin Timberlake) that sees the latter relocating to New York. The duo decide to try out intimacy without commitment, that works for a while, but eventually they decode to go their own separate ways. And expectedly, not for long, for in the world of the romantic comedy genre, sex without feelings is an obvious impossibility. Like any other romantic comedy with an apology for a plot, Friends with Benefits hinges on the chemistry between the lead pair – and there is plenty of that. Worth a watch, if you care about the genre, that is

13.5/20

Real Motivation

It is hard going to create something relatively original in the action genre. And that is why Shawn Levy should be particularly proud. Real Steel showcases the cult of the fighting robot – from the third tier robots in bullfights, to global celebrity Zeus and its marketing and technology machine, the movie breaks something close to new ground in creating an action sub-genre. And the cast helps in no small measure – especially the now-on now-off father-son duo of Charlie (Hugh Jackman) and Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo). Charlie’s best days as a boxer – robot or otherwise – appear firmly behind him. Till Max comes back into his life, and shows him once again what it is to fight for what one believes in. Real Steel is about the old adages of how it is never too late to try, and why one should never ever give up

15.5/20

Blow the Right Whistle

The distressing reality of the “war whores” - women trafficked from their homelands into war torn Bosnia, as a part of a trade that tears into the heart of the establishment – is showcased in The Whistleblower. The unfolding starts the newly promoted Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) unearthing the heinous nexus between the people who are purported to be liberated, and those ostensibly sent to liberate them. With generous doses of the emotive, Kathryn goes about her mission, is duly sidelined the establishment right up to the topmost brass, and eventually has her say - but not before she has lost much in the process. As depicted many times in movies and real life, the road to hell (for do-gooders) is indeed paved with good intentions (that are shared with but a few)

14.5/20

Law with (some) Heart

Ten minutes into The Lincoln Lawyer, with Mick Haller (Matthew McConnaughey’s) Southern drawl and some mildly interesting small town goings-on, I was wondering if this was a movie worth watching till the end. And how! This is the movie of the classical twist. Mick is not exactly the epitome of virtue – making a living from defending small town criminals in court, while operating out of a Lincoln car. But even he draws the line at the marginally criminal, and Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) crosses that threshold - or does he? An unabashed treat to watch, and in the spirit of competition among lawyer movies as it were, perhaps leaves the entire Grisham bandwagon high and dry

16/20

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