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

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

Take it Out

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

12/20

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

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

Get that Marriage Right

Remember Tina Fey? The woman who rocked the world by her hilarious impersonations of Sarah Palin? Well, here is Tina Fey as Claire Foster, in a quiet New Jersey existence with husband Phil Foster (Steve Carrell). A humdrum daily routine, quiet careers, a book club, and a Date Night every week make up their existence. This movie is about one date night that does not quite go as planned. Driven by an irrepressible desire to try something different, the couple head off to New York for a dinner at the super-exclusive “Claw” and pose as the Tripplehorns (?) in order to get a table. Accosted by two perfect strangers who believe that they are actually the Tripplehorns, Phil and Claire find themselves running for their lives across New York at night. Diving headlong into adventure, and with a little help from security expert Holbrooke Grant (Mark Wahlberg), the couple end up heroes in an unlikely adventure that, while unraveling intrigue at the highest levels in the big city, more importantly, rekindles their romance. This movie would have been a forgettable popcorn flick except for the universally recognizable nuances thrown in, about marriages and why stress arises in them, and how couples who want to make it work, well, can. Have fun with this one

13/20

Bring Home the Book

Eli (Denzel Washington) is a lonely man in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. He hunts his own food, and works his way westwards across the wasteland that America has become. Also, he carries a King James Bible – The Book of Eli – and through many readings of it comes to know of its power to motivate, and it becomes his purpose to hand the book to that which lies west. On the way he reaches a hick-town dominated by one tyrant – Carnegie (Gary Oldman) – who is in search of the book himself, as he looks for a means to control the minds of people. On threat of much pain to the mother (Jennifer Beals) he sends daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) on an errand to find out more about Eli. Eli and Solara end up destroying the little evil empire of Carnegie, and deliver the Book into safe hands that hopefully hold the key to humanity. Very clearly a very Catholic movie for the God-fearing kind, the morality tale does not fall through because it never is pretentious nor pompous, but continues in the even dark backdrop and, adjusted for our general cynicism with all things religious, leaves us with a spattering of hope

12.5/20

Max Wahlberg

Max Payne offers little original amidst a plethora of big screen adaptations of popular animated characters and games. These are interesting times in Mumbai (the siege of the Taj ended yessterday) - the themes that stick in one's mind are clearly that of individual courage, loss of family and of course the ubiquitous floors of scyscrapers exploding and burning. Perhaps not the best of times to review a movie, or watch one in a hall - cant remember the last time when I saw less than twenty people in a Sunday evening primetime movie. To continue, Mark Wahlberg exudes character as always and brings his force of personality to bear on an otherwise hackneyed plot of catharsis and revenge in a Batman meets V is for Vendetta like dark urban milieu. Kudos to John Moore (Flight of the Phoenix, Behind Enemy Lines) for some really smart cinematography.