LONDON BOULEVARD (2009)

 Mitchel (Collin Farrell) is just released from prison. And he don’t have any intention of going back in though his good old life has quite a few creative methods of living to put him back there. Not exactly a gangster but hot tempered and known around the block, Mitchel looks for a fresh start. He gets to work for a solitary actress Charlotte (Keira Knightley) who is broken after controversy and disturbed to brim with paparazzi. In the mean time find’s him selves caught up between a gang lord and his so called friend who wants to recruit him for their dirty work. Unexpectedly falling for the actress and making the biggest gang lord in town his grave enemy, Mitchel starts to struggle to balance his life and get out of everything clean. 

“London Boulevard” is an entertaining movie. It has drama, crime and quite a bit of action in it as well. And it’s quite straight and brutal when it comes to shooting and killing people. Amidst all that the movie firmly builds up the Mitchel character which is portrayed well by Farrell (By now I’m quite disappointed of him not appearing in Hollywood movies anymore). He got a sister who is mischievous whom he tries to take care of the way he can, but hard to tolerate with. He got friends whom are junkies or crooks he really cannot trust. All he wants is to live clean but that’s the only thing he fails to achieve. 

 

The other characters are pretty much strong as well. Charlotte the actress seems to have a lot going around her and now looking for early retirement after disliking many what had happened. The gang lord Gran likes to show his might around the block and a tough guy in a clean suit. 

 The movie has a good phase. It hardly drags or hardly over accelerates. The script is good which I had a little difficult time to catch up due to British pronunciation and sub titles came for my rescue.

However comparing with those good gang movies which came out in Britton like Layer Cake or Green Street Hooligans, London Boulevard is pretty immature. It has a good plot but not a very creative one or a memorable one. You may enjoy this movie no doubt. But if you felt that it ended too soon welcome to my boat. 

My score 3/5

Genre:  Crime, Romance

Director: William Monahan

Writers: William Monahan (screenplay), Ken Bruen (novel)

Stars: Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley and Ray Winstone

LAST NIGHT (2010)

 “Last Night” is a drama in its pure state. Wrapped around a couple who is married for 3 years, it discusses about basic pillars of marriage and its fundamental importance and effects once shattered. The couple who values loyalty and Trust yet finds themselves in situations to be disloyal lures up in lust and desires, at time becomes helpless although they are deeply in love with each other. 

Joanna Reed (Keira Knightley) is the wife who is a writer and a works freelance most of the time spends her time at home. Michael Reed (Sam Worthington) is the husband who works in a construction contract company sometimes goes out of town for business purposes. They live in a decent apartment in the city and lives normal just like any other couple with small arguments and moment of love. After attending to an office party Joanna notices that her husband is spending time with a lady friend Laura who she was not aware earlier and suspects that he has something else to do with her. After a mild argument Michael leaves town for a business trip with a team which involves Laura which makes Joanna quite uncomfortable. But for her amusement while she spends the day alone she meets her x boyfriend  unexpectedly and decides to go out for dinner with him. While Michael spends time Laura and finds himself to be irresistibly charmed by her, Joanna spends the night with her past love confused and feeling insecure. 

 This movie is not unique. Or it does not have truly dramatic turns or twist. But it flows smooth and calmly while giving the viewer ample time to think the characters and most of the time guess what their next moves will be. More than just watching a story this is about looking in to humans and the way they behave and emotions. If I say ‘Last Night’ is more about feelings than a story it will be quite correct.

When it comes to performances I quite admire everyone in the main roles. Keira is stunning with her looks and attitude throughout and Sam plays the confused husband with skill. 

Marriage comes with thick boundaries with love and trust deeply caged in it. Yet at times that strong boundary seems to be so thin and fragile when life becomes complicated and feelings are not just words. Maybe living with the guilt of not knowing the boundaries is the toughest of all. 

My score 3/5

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Massy Tadjedin

Writer: Massy Tadjedin

Stars:  Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes 

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1

 Harry Potter has come a long way. From the age of 12 learning the art of magic and wizardry, defeating many villains and successfully battling grave dangers and enemies he is now a 17 year old lad. Same goes to his lifelong buddies Ron Weasley and Harmoine Granger. These 3 friends are now the center of attention of many and Harry is yet to face the greatest challenges of his life while his allies fall in numbers and the whole game starts to become his burden. More enemies heading towards him and keeping the balance of the known world and the threats against it becomes the prime objective of this young guy with specs and gift of magic. Knowing he is the chosen one put more and more pressure on him and his enemies the same while trying to achieve their own ambitions vigorously. 

 

I’m not a hardcore fan of Harry Potter as I’m with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars for that matter. But one good reason I still spend over two and a half hours with this movie each time it comes out, from its 1^st to the latest 7^th chapter ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows –Part1’ is it’s profoundly fantastic space it gives for wildest imaginations and fantasies. Growing up and becoming an adult is not a reason for anyone to lose the grip over this wonderful series of movies. If you like movies and if you like to give yourself a break from all known hazards of your natural life and embed your heart and soul in to something magical, then Harry Potter must be the place to invest your dime.

 

I have no intention of going deeply in to the plot of this chapter or describe the characters in detail as this movie has come a very long way by now. All of you who want to watch it I’m quite sure that will do without taking a second thought as it’s in your dreams already. Basically Voldermort is becoming powerful day by day and he is working towards his ultimate target of killing Harry Potter. And Harry and his 2 buddies are on the epic effort in order to find the Horcruxes and to destroy them before the dark lord finds them and use it for his advantage. The plot grows bigger and bigger and seemly not in favor of Harry which is clearly creating the grand finale in next chapter.

 ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows –Part1’ is another wonderful chapter of this brilliant series of movies. This maybe the most successful movie franchise in the history of movies ever other than Star Wars. So I really don’t need to make your mind in order to watch this. Packed with staggering work of animation, music score and acting performances with a good deal of dramatic plot, I’m quite sure you would!

My score 4/5

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Adventure

Director: David Yates

Writers: Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)

Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

NEVER LET ME GO (2010)

My score 4/5

Some times when a movie is so strong and emotional you start to feel that you have become helpless, in the simple reason of not having an opportunity of being able to help the situation. The characters become so familiar and close to heart yet feel so far. Usually this type of emotional hype is seldom seeing in science fictions. Science fictions are mostly technology driven and they have less space for a truly close to reality plot or beautiful performances. But ‘Never Let Me Go’ is one of those wonderful pieces of science fiction which will make you forget that you are watching something which is almost not true but still cannot imagine that it’s not. 

The story starts to takes place in 1970’s in England in an orphanage. At least it looks that way at the beginning. Just like any orphanage there are rules, regulations and procedures to follow. The plot mainly concentrates on 3 children who live there; Kathy, Tommy and Ruth who are friends. When their age starts to blossom Kathy and Tommy starts to build up a relationship. At least that’s what they feel like but with the sudden intrusion of Ruth, Kathy falls back in Tommy’s life. 

 

In the mean time they realize their true meaning of existence which is that they are born and raised in order to harvest organs. Not knowing anything about the free world or any other form of life all they want to become good donors as they are trained and to be. All they know is that their life is short and soon they have to leave this place and start donating their organs until they are not usable any more. While Kathy becomes a carer who is a voluntary line of work which gets her some time before she starts donating, Tommy and Ruth all goes separate ways in their lives. But things start to change for them as adults when they finally meet again after years under very strange circumstances. For them love seems to be more important now than never but bound by regulations Kathy and Tommy struggles to find a way out. 

 What’s really great about this love story is that it’s different than any other I have seeing. With the wonderful performances of Carey Mulligan (Kathy), Andrew Garfield (Tommy) and Keira Knightley (Ruth) within a script with fewer words and more of emotionally driven acting, ‘Never Let Me Go’ is a very closely felt movie. Even though the movie is not labeled as a sci-fi in my point of view it perfectly fits there. And then yes the drama and romance perspective is completely there as well. 

By not having a fairy tale ending you may remember this to be one amazing drama that grips you from start to end. A must watch!

Genre: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction

Director: Mark Romanek

Writers: Kazuo Ishiguro (novel), Alex Garland (screenplay)

Stars: Keira Knighley , Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield

CASE 39 (2009)

My score 3.5/5

Usually horror movies are not my cup of tea. I watch them by mistake or after serious recommendation by someone I completely trust in taste of movies. ‘Case 39’ belongs to the category one. Guess I have not done my research properly! Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t mean to say that horror movies are bad or anything. It’s just that I don’t really feel the urge of watching them. ‘Case 39’ was a good one. Have no complaints about it. So here goes the review. 

Emily Jenkins is a social worker. She is true to her profession and always looks up to the brighter side of her life helping the kids in need. She handles many cases of children who are abused and already neck deep on her workload when her boss gives her another new case to investigate. Reluctant at first but taking her profession by heart she steps out to solve this one as well. Creating an instant connection with the little girl Lilith, who seems to be having a hard time with abusive parents in a quite dysfunctional family, Emily goes the extra mile to help her. Not having the heart to say no to Lilith’s charm, Emily ends up adopting her as Lilith’s parents ends up in a mental asylum under tragic circumstances. But it doesn’t take ages for Emily to realize that the little visitor in her house is not quite innocent as she seems to be. And Emily is yet to face the most horrific experiences in her life. 

What I admire about ‘Case 39’ is that it’s not your typical horror movie. It doesn’t scare you from the start or just put you in indescribable situations over and over again. True horror movies don’t real have any scientific meaning to them but some are utterly stupid in my standards. But this one really doesn’t fall there completely. Ultimately you will not be able to describe it as such as any other horror flick but the physiological thrilling parts are quite interesting. 

  It scares you quite well at the second half but in the first half it just flows calm in most of the time with a story which actually makes sense and dramatic. The lead role played by Renee Zellweger is strong and grips the plot well. Her dramatic performances most of the time will make you forget that this is actually a horror movie. 

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

Director: Christian Alvart

Writer: Ray Wright

Stars: Renée Zellweger, Ian McShane and Jodelle Ferland

YOGI BEAR (2010)

My score 3/5

A talking bear with a brain full of ideas of food. But not the normal bear food. For foods which humans bring in their picnic baskets!! And he is all set up to grab them with his buddy Boo Boo.

This bear is none other than the ‘Yogi Bear’, who lives in the JellyStone park reserve. And he is about to steal more food.

Most critics are not in favor of ‘Yogi Bear’. But me the opposite. Maybe I was in a jolly good mood when I watched it. All I wanted was to watch a movie, get some laughs and feel light. And that’s what ‘Yogi Bear’ has precisely delivered. It has the total Disney feeling to it. Coming from Warner Brothers it was a little different. And it’s not a totally animated movie with talking animals. It is part animation and part live action. And it blend so well that you will totally forget their origins after some time. 

 If you ask me if this movie is for kids I’d say yes. And if you ask me why I like it then I’d say that we have a kid in all of us. And that kid never grows old and ‘Yogi Bear’ would feed that kid within us. Like I said before there is no harm done by watching it. It can make even the hardest of adults laugh for sure. It’s not rocket science. Its pure entertainment. 

Talking about the plot it’s not a wonder but it’s creative. A wild bear lives in a park steal food from the visitors. Meanwhile a lady reporter comes in to do a documentary on him which ultimately the park ranger falls in love with. And the wicked mayor of the city wants to sell the park off in order to cover the damages to the city budget and get a fat reelection. And the Bear, Park Ranger and the Reporter is compelled to work together in order to fight the common enemy. 

The Bear character is super. He is funny no doubt and someone that you might really wanna get to know in person. Pain in the butt most of the time I must warn! The other characters including the Yogi’s only animal friend Boo Boo is quite interesting as well. You don’t really need good character development in order for light movies like this to succeed. It’s a matter of cool performance and some funny dialogues. Even the bad guys sound funny in their own nature. Kinda cool!

You can watch this with the whole family around. That’s one rare movie now these days is it? ha ha. Enjoy!!

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family

Director: Eric Brevig

Writers: Jeffrey Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin,

Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake and Anna Faris