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

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

Avatar = Reincarnation or Recycling?

Avatar does not seem to be a movie that is suited to the Indian cynic as audience. What of Ehwa (Gaia?) in a distant planet, an indigenous people with lifestyle and roots in the bounty of nature around them, their inevitable conflict with the human race and its endless quest for resources – this is all schmuck, says the Indian audience. And I cannot help but agree to some extent. There is a been-there done that aura about the movie – whether it echoes the indigenous tribes and fragile ecosystem of the Brazilian (and a dozen other) rainforests, or whether the unlimited greed for mineral resources brings to mind America’s global warmongering in search of oil, it seems that the core of the movie is drawn around a rehash of all-too-familiar elements and the fact that these elements are of course finding increasing resonance in an increasingly aware world does not take away from the fact that the core of the movie is somewhat unimaginative. But what is undeniable is the sheer quality of the graphics and the overall cinematography – the attention to detail and the sheer quality and complexity of the visual imagery bring to mind Jurassic Park – another genre-defining milestone in the use of technology by Hollywood. This is a movie that is likely to be a resounding commercial success in the short to medium term, but on a more measured inspection both critics and the junta may find it wanting

12/20