TEARS OF THE SUN (2003)

War or military themed movies come in different styles and sizes. These flicks stage upon true life events like Black Hawk Down to fictions like the Predator. And amongst them Tears of the Sun is somewhat entertaining than many.

Plot around a special US platoon who is led by Lt. A.K. Waters (Bruce Willis) goes in a covert mission to rescue Dr. Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci). She is involved in a humanitarian mission in the civil unrest war zone of an African country. Though the orders were to rescue only her and few others, Lt. Waters make a sudden change of plans when the Dr. refuses to leave her patients. While trying to protect and rescue a bunch of Africans with the support of his team, Lt. Waters is faced with grave enemies who stop at nothing. 

It’s a good old American style war movie. Where the highly trained heroic American soldiers goes on a deadly mission to an unknown territory. And then their hearts melt when they face with reality and decides to do something extra than what they were supposed to. And their high tech and war machines display their colors. Maybe in that sense it’s mundane.

However this becomes quite heroic at its last stages, with the heavy battle sequences and the team trying to keep the civilians safe as much as possible. Then there are few heartwarming dialogues and gestures to finish off. 

Tears of the sun pack some good action and acting to go along with the plot. Not the best war flick you will see but you will not forget it for a very long time. 

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Writers: Alex Lasker, Patrick Cirillo

Stars: Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser and Monica Bellucci

DEAD MAN'S SHOES (2004)

Dead Man’s Shoes is a simple story of revenge. But how it’s executed as a movie is what’s interesting about it. 

Richard who is a military man returns to his home town after a long absence. And when he does he has only one objective in mind. To retaliate against a gang of local bullies who is responsible for violent behavior against his mentally challenged little brother Anthony. And when Richards starts to show his intentions things get really ugly for some people. 

The plot is very straight forward with a hard hitting twist in the end half. The love Richard has for his brother and how he suffers in side for not being there for him builds a strong plot for revenge. And the disturbing scenes of what the gang has done to Anthony bring the viewer closer to Richards mind set. 

Subtle Cinematography along with a well deserved soundtrack the movie shift from level to level silently and reaches its peak while keeping the viewer wondering of Richards next moves. Being a low budget flick this does not bring you any heart stopping actions sequences or big time thrills. But this is closer to real life than one of those big budgets. And it’s emotionally rich. Whether it’s love and revenge or fear for death either way. 

Genre: Drama, Crime, Thriller

Director: Shane Meadows

Writers: Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows,

Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch and Toby Kebbell

THE EAGLE (2011)

Hollywood does not favor historical movies based on Roman era quite as much as it did decades back. Now the spotlight is mostly on the top gun action flicks and superheroes. So in a time like that ‘The Eagle’ spread its wings. But it’s far behind from satisfying!!

The story is about a young Roman soldier Marcus (Channing Tantum) who goes to the forbidden lands of Britain in 2^nd century in order to claim back his families honor. After his father who was the commander of the 9^th legion of the Roman army lost the battalions golden emblem the Eagle and the whole battalion in Britain, no one ever dared to find out what happened back then. But ambitious Marcus joins the army and willingly decides to serve the Roman emperor in the front of Britain. In his quest to find the eagle and what happened to his father’s battalion he gets the help from Esca (Jamie Bell) who is his body slave and also a Brit. Entering an unknown land with Esca who is far from being a true friend but a true enemy who has lost his whole family by the hands of Romans, Marcus will face the biggest battle in his life in the name of honor.

Based on the novel ‘The Eagle of the ninth’ what says as to be true events The Eagle has an interesting yet promising script. However I’m not aware how accurate the movie speaks of the actually events or the historical background of the whole plot. But not knowing it is not a must at all. 

What’s good about the movie is that the creative details are well made. And the action sequences along with the battles are well executed and feel natural and strong. Though there is less blood and gore it does not second to any epic action sequences of such similar scale. 

What’s bad about The Eagle is quite prominent than what’s good in it. First of all casting Channing Tantum as a heroic Roman soldier is a big mistake. Channing is definitely not that material. Maybe his looks or the way he talk just not make him look Roman at all. Apart from that the story is not really helping to keep the momentum. Though it starts as a true battle filled Roman epic it quickly dissolves in to a slow moving one man show for a long time. Though it gains its drive back again it never becomes what it was in the first half hour. 

I never expect less from movies like The Eagle. So this flick disappoints me. But for the mere fact that it was a visual treat than it represent a great era in the human history I will offer it 3 stars. 

Genre: Drama, Adventure, History

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Writers: Jeremy Brock (screenplay), Rosemary Sutcliff (novel)

Stars: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (2011)

When the upcoming young politician David Norris (Matt Demon) is about to lose his biggest election he unexpectedly meets with a young ballerina named Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). They both realize that something ticked between them that very moment but for some reason they get separated. Again meeting her coincidently on the bus starts to change David’s life dramatically. Yet he fails to keep in touch with her. And soon David realized that there is a strange force working behind all this and that force is not letting him to get to know Elise. And when David and Elise starts to fight this force in the name of love things get a little out of hand. 

The Adjustment Bureau is a love story wrapped in a science fiction shell. And it unique but makes little sense at the start. But when the story rolls on, the viewer has to decide many things by themselves and following the lead roles to find out their fate in all this. 

The movie provides ample space to wonder about for theories. Some may call them religious and some may call it fate or even just pure sci fi phenomenon. Whatever it is there is a wonderful vibe to it from the beginning to the end. 

 

 Performances by the lead roles are quite heartwarming. For Matt this looks like a fresh role which he executes well. And for Emily she just floors the audience with her sharp features and breathtaking dance moves. Some of the dance sequences are just bliss to witness.

There is a strong message in the movie. About human emotions and feelings and the choices we make, and how it all shapes our future knowing or otherwise. 

Genre: Romance, Sci Fi, Thriller

Director: George Nolfi

Writers: George Nolfi (screenplay), Philip K. Dick (short story "Adjustment Team")

Stars: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Kastriner

SUCKER PUNCH (2011)

 

Coming from the director of 300 and Watchmen if you expect anything less of action and CG from Sucker Punch, you are dead wrong! You will be instantly blown away by the visual effects and the sheer amount of mind blowing action throughout this flick.

The plot is not complicated yet when you watch it you will definitely be lost here and there. The story is about a girl (AKA Baby Doll) who is abused by her stepfather and then condemned in to a mental asylum. While she plots to escape from the horrible place she gets the help from few other girls. With her buddies and borderless vivid imagination she set up a plan to get away and set to execute it step by step.

Sucker Punch is all about visual fantasy than being a hard hit story line. Sexy set of girls wearing tight pants and skinnies shooting and kicking the butts of weird creatures and robots and Hitler’s mechanic army doesn’t sound realistic at all. But when the movie rolls out each of these scenarios becomes practically extravagant with minute and breathtaking detail. Some of the action sequences like the attacking of robots in disarming the nuclear bomb (AKA kitchen Knife)  are totally amazing. The work done for CG, live action and set creation is maybe one of the best which I have seeing in recent movie making.

Thought The plot is weak it’s not entirely bad. From one angle it’s a psychological thriller.  From another it’s a fantasy. Put them together it’s a thrilling movie about an escape plan made uniquely than any other. And the fantastic sound track consists of heavy metal and soft rock music just purely adds up to the thrill. And the first 5 mts of the movie is purely a ground breaking start with a touch of a music video. Fantastic!

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller

Director: Zack Snyder

Writers: Zack Snyder (screenplay), Steve Shibuya (screenplay)

Stars: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Abbie Cornish

THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011)

When the deal of a life time comes his way, the low rent defense attorney Mickey Haller decides to grab the most out of it. Defending low life criminals who cannot afford good attorneys, Mickey usually works his cases on the backseat of his Lincoln. With a broken marriage and a cute daughter and a still friendly x wife in his life Mickey somehow keeps his head above the water when the tides are high. But when this new high price deal comes his way unexpectedly and a rich family boy and his mother is involved in it Mickey sets to sail the deep water. But soon he realizes that he is becoming a pawn in a wicked game which he cannot simply quit even though his life is at stake. 

Lincoln Lawyer is a crime thriller with a twist of legal background to it. The story is fast phased and gives little details to hang in to most of the time. It has flashbacks of events which occur earlier and assumptions which is normal to crime scene story telling. Yet as the main lead is an attorney than a police investigator makes this twist a bit unique. 

The plot doesn’t make a great deal of sense but it sure can hook you up for good two hours. When the story starts like a normal drama that features a twisted attorney in the middle it gradually evolves in to a thriller with quite a bit of blood and gore. Like I said before it can make you wonder throughout the plot of what’s to come next. 

 Good performance by the feel free Matthew McConaughey and more than good performance by Ryan Philippe. If your ‘thing’ is crime and drama then this will keep you entertained. 

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Director: Brad Furman

Writers: John Romano Michael Connelly

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei , Ryan Phillippe

PAUL (2011)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are reunited in this hilarious science fiction which even drive alien’s nuts. You may remember how they were in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the dead. And this one is no less entertaining. 

When Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings travel all the way from UK to USA to visit the comic con and make a road trip they bump in to someone very special.  Strangely an alien named Paul. And this big green headed alien with a skinny body and a shiny pair of goggle eyes doesn’t seems like any one they expected to meet. Surprisingly witty and mischievous Paul tags along with Graeme and Clive, or rather they had no other option but to take Paul with them. Soon the duo realizes that Paul is on the run from the government and he has already spent 60 years on earth. While trying to help Paul to get back to his planet the duo face the resistance from the government agents and the father of the girl they happen to kidnap by ‘mistake’.

Maybe ‘Paul’ is something that never was screened before. It carries a familiar theme of an alien who is lost in our planet and seeking a way back. But it’s more than that. This alien is not just some creature who speaks a native tongue and hides away from the humans. This dude is a pure crazy smart ass alien who just will play any havoc in a split second before you even blink. He speaks pure English with a curse in-between each line and smoke weed like a pro. Topless and wears shorts but don’t think twice to get rid of it. He even has the ability to bring life back to dead creature’s right before he gulps them up for a meal! And when he says “What the Fuck?” you might actually burst by laughing. 

Paul has a good mix of live acting and CG. The alien is well rendered and emotional up to a great detail with the brilliant voice acting of Seth Rogen. And Simon and Nick just do the wonder to main roles.  They are unintentionally hilarious and made me laugh quite loud. 

‘Paul’ is a light weight scientific comedy. It has enough lines to laugh with and action to fulfill your thriller cells. 

Graeme Willy: How come I can understand you? Are you using some neural language router?

Paul: Actually I'm speaking English you fucking idiot!

Genre: Comedy, Sci Fi , Adventure

Director: Greg Mottola

Writers: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg

Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen

PREDATOR (1987)

I don’t think that this movie actually requires an introduction. PREDATOR is not just one of the action movies. But it is one of those ‘the’ fantastic action movies in the history of movie making. It vaguely hides behind a science fiction theme but represent itself to be loud as thunder and thrilling as lightning. 

Predator represents a certain generation. A generation which expected nothing less than hardcore action and hardcore actors. Hardcore action was delivered by the military or any one above the military only and such action was not possible by any other. When the ARMY helicopters starts to roam the sky and the machine gun bullets starts to rip anything in their way you know what you have got yourself in to. 

 And then there were these men with the most muscular bodies who stop at nothing to achieve their objective one way or the other. And one thing was certain that when you spell out Arnold Schwarzenegger it was all about that action that fills your nerves with a good dose of adrenaline. 

Predator is all about those with a big bonus of brilliantly unique plot. Who could have imagined that when an elite team of soldiers in the jungle starts to disappear one by one and get’s brutally murdered, the real enemy is just a badass alien!! And this alien blends with the environment and goes invisible and tracks living things with thermal imagery. How ‘hot’ is that?

For me there are few things why Predator totally rocks. One it’s Arnold as I mentioned before. I quite don’t see any other actor until now had made their mark in action flicks like Arnold did though few came close. With his emotionless face and nerve carved biceps he is no match. And then it’s the action and the thrill. Predator from start to end is a nonstop rollercoaster ride which twists and fries your organs. Third is the plot. It’s magnificent and unique to start with. Even the alien is one of a kind and brutal creature that shows no mercy.  And when it ends it’s one of the best survival games you will ever see.

There are few sequels which later released on Predator, yet up to date the original holds it strong position to be the best. 

Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Sci Fi

Director: John McTiernan

Writers: Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall

EQUILIBRIUM (2002)

Feels like a ride in the Matrix train but it feels fun! Packed with smoking gun swinging action and bone breaking hand to hand combat ‘Equilibrium’ is not a disappointment. 

In the future most of the world population is wiped out after the end of world war iii. And in the newly formed nation of Libria a dictator rules. Believing that human emotions lead to wars and destruction a serum is injected to each citizen of Libria that blocks all human emotions. All forms of creativity including writing and drawing are banned. Whoever possessed such material is punished by death. An elite group of soldiers watch over the nation and John Preston (Christian Bale) is one of the top ranking officers who never fail at his job with pin point accuracy. But things change for him when he deliberately skips to take the serum one morning. He starts to find out the wonderful feeling of being able to have emotions and feelings.

This is not a perfect science fiction. But it’s a movie with a heavy heart in places where you will never expect. You will forget how to feel when you watch this for a while and then the movie itself will bring you back to light. In a small miracle moments of Preston cries after hearing a sonata and being licked by a puppy are just amazing flashes of truth for him and for the audience equal. 

Christian Bale who I always trust in does not fail in the role of Preston. He is strong, quick and kick ass perfect. Though the movie is quite low budget there are some scenes which that embed right in the core of your entertainment brain. And the set creation is wonderful. The whole movie is metallic and neat looking with crisp architecture and black leather outfits. 

Maybe you will be happy about all your emotions after you watch it. And thankful that no one controls them other than you!

Genre: Sci Fi, Action, Drama

Director: Kurt Wimmer

Writer: Kurt Wimmer

Stars: Christian Bale, Sean Bean and Emily Watson

GREENBERG (2010)

This movie has the simplest story line. A man from New York moves to Los Angeles to his brother’s place while trying to recover from a bad experience. There he finds a connection with his brother assistant.

The story starts there and ends just there. Yes it’s just a connection and we will never know if they really liked each other or made a couple later on. There is no real start or a real end to ‘Greenberg’ but it just rolls damn well. 

Some of you may call it an utter waste of time or some might just walk out without understanding anything. Because it’s just small talk, total burst of emotions and flowing feelings but not a movie with a real plot to go with. Then what’s so good about Greenberg?

This movie is strongly character driven. It just never stops showing how two people who are totally lost in their own little worlds, without a way of coming out, trying to get along together. People who have their own way of looking at the world and judging what’s going around them all the time but fails miserably when they are being judged by someone else. People who don’t really have a goal or ambitions but just trying to survive the day but knowing that life is not that simple but cannot find where the real values are. 

Ben Stiller on a different kind of a role which he portrays well. And Jennifer Jason Leigh adds her grace all over. 

Greenberg is a painful bag of reality. Some may open it and digest what’s in it. 

Genre: Drama, comedy, romance

Director: Noah Baumbach

Writers: Jennifer Jason Leigh (story), Noah Baumbach (story)

Stars: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig and Jennifer Jason Leigh

FROM HELL (2001)

 

From Hell is based on the true life crime story of Jack the Ripper which took place in 1888 in East London. And it’s the screen adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.

When the prostitutes on street are getting murdered in a brutal and violent manner, the investigation is given to a young Scotland Yard detective Fred Abberline. Abberline who is already a trouble gentleman with the loss of his wife and child sometime back tries to catch this ruthless killer but finds little luck. The ritualistic manner of the murders and the mutilations seems to be done by someone who is quite experienced in human anatomy.

In the mean time Abberline gets to know a set of prostitutes who are in the risk zone and particularly gets friendly with Mary Kelly who agrees to support him with his investigation. And soon he realizes that the murders are not just a work of a mad man but something more than he can personally bring down. As he and Mary starts to get emotionally involved he tries to keep her protected from the killer as she becomes the final prostitute left out of the target bunch. 

There is nothing new in this flick. It’s a mix of horror scenes with a matching score. Other than that it doesn’t offer much of a twists or mysteries to go along with. And it’s quite predictable. 

But for a crime and horror fan it is not so boring. The flow of the story is good. There are no lagging or unwanted scenes. And there is a serious work of set creation and representation of London which is perfectly noticeable from the very first scene. 

Johnny Depp is mundane and Heather Graham is pretty. Other than that the script does not offer any actor to be special or memorable. 

Genre: Horror, Crime, Thriller, Mystery,

Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Writers: Alan Moore (graphic novel), Eddie Campbell (graphic novel),  

Stars: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham and Ian Holm

UNKNOWN (2011)

My Score

In Berlin when Dr. Martin Harris wakes up after a car accident which caused him a 4 day coma, he starts to realize that something is not right. His wife doesn’t recognize him and someone else claim that he is Dr. Martin Harris. When no one believes who he really is Martin becomes a lost tourist in the Berlin city. And now he must find some connection to his real self and to prove himself. It’s not so easy at it seems as even he is confused over the reality and what could be unreal due to his accident injuries. But soon he realizes that there is a daring mystery behind his lost ID. 

Unknown is nothing equal to reality. But for the mere fact of thrill and mystery it is entertaining. Vaguely resembles Born Identity with a somewhat similar plot and action taking place in Europe. High speed car chases which stops at nothing and brutal hand to hand combat are big pluses in this thriller. 

The plot is indeed interesting. However looses the grip a bit after the first half becoming more unrealistic. It’s mysterious and makes the viewer to come to conclusions over small details yet prove them all wrong at the end. There are few good twists and some mundane moments as well.

Good performance by Liam Neeson portraying a confused intelligent man who is desperately trying to get back to his wife and his life. But this is not his best. Other than that the rest of actor credits are just the usual.

Unknown is satisfying if you do not dare to go in to details and plainly enjoy what the surface offers you. 

Genre: Action, Thriller, Mystery

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers: Oliver Butcher (screenplay), Stephen Cornwell (screenplay)

Stars: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger and January Jones

RABBIT HOLE (2010)

  Becca and Howie is not a happy couple any more. They have lost their young son Danny eight months ago and now the big house seems to have gone empty with the lives of the people who are still living in it. They struggle to recover, yet day by day engulfed by the grief doesn’t seem to find a connection to be happy as a couple. They try counseling, recovery groups yet within them every moment of their life is a painful step. Both Becca and Howie become distant and try to find their comfort in others. Becca starts to meet up with a teenager who apparently the driver of the car which killed Danny. And Howie finds comfort with a woman who attends to the group therapy. 

You may judge each move of these two people countless times. But the story thoughtfully lay down the decisions by itself by the time the end titles role. More than being just a mundane drama with a familiar plot Rabbit Hole delivers powerful performances and twists in the story which makes it special. 

Nicole Kidman is annoyingly yet wonderfully portrays Becca which is a very challenging role in her recent career. She deserves every award and the nominations for this role. And Aaron Eckhart delivers the best performance that I can recall of him. For him its pure rage and affection bundled in to one staggering movie. And the rest of the cast are well balanced and gives the maximum contribution on and off without making the story move any way further from the main subject. 

 There is so much beauty in this sad and depressing movie. You may find moments that shock you and moment that make you annoyed. And moments which absolutely make you helpless. That’s the power of Rabbit Hole.

Two thumbs up!!

Genre: Drama

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Writers: David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay), David Lindsay-Abaire (play)

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest

A SINGLE MAN (2009)

 

My Score

 The first interest of this movie for me was the appearance of Collin Firth. (As he won the 2010 Oscar best actor award for kings Speech I wanted to go back a little and check out some of his best was as per critics)

Taking place in 60s the movie is about a gay English professor who is based on Los Angeles. As the story starts it has being a year after he lost his partner in a car accident. And at present he finds it difficult to cope up with is grief. Thus decides to suicide. While trying to finish up his last deeds before his departure he is approached by a young male student from his class. They find a connection. 

A Single Man is not the typical romantic movie or the drama. It speaks of a social reality which many of us may try to avoid or turn the blind eye. And the exquisite quality in the dramatic movie making just cannot get better than this. And the plot delivers more than just sex and a total different perspective of love and attraction. 

The movie is filled with brief cutaways, insightful dialogues and minor details which pack the screen with subtle beauty. The cinematography is elegant and creates a whole mood for the plot and its flow. The weight of loneliness and grief combined with the uncertainty totally engulfs the audience. 

Collin Firth delivers a totally mesmerizing performance no doubt. Each scene and each line is dramatically perfect. His character speaks of emotion, survival, intelligent and ego. 

If your taste is for dramas and dramas that makes a different then ‘A Single Man’ will not fail you. 

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Tom Ford

Writers:  Tom Ford (written for the screen by), David Scearce (written for the screen by),

Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode

TRUE GRIT (2011)

My Score

True Grit is the story of a man hunt which takes place in the back of the day in western US country side. When the stubborn 14 year old Mattie Ross is desperate to find her father’s killer and bring him to justice, she decides to hire the best Marshall in town. After a brief recommendation she puts her dime on the ‘old’ Rooster Cogburn. She forcefully tags alone in to the hostile Indian Territory with Cogburn and another lawman LeBoeuf who is also tracking down the same man for different reasons. Soon the two man hunter’s starts to find their differences and quarrel over stuff like children and the 14 year old finds it difficult to keep them both in the objective. 

The strength of True Grit comes from two angles. The awesomely witty yet solemn script and the acting. The script and acting is so well knitted that you might actually wonder if it’s really humor you’re listen to or serious manly conversation. Some of the conversations happen between the men are downright funny but the actors pull it off with their most serious faces. Even the little girls get confused at time though she is well educated and brave for her age. 

The wonderful cast includes Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon. Jeff plays the veteran one eyed man hunter Cogburn  who is partially a drunk. Hailee plays the stubborn 14 year old and hard headed Mattie. Born in 1996 and coming from California with 9 movie/tv titles under her belt she was nominated for Oscars for this role. And no wonder about that because her acting makes the whole flick a novel experience. Then comes LeBoeuf who’s played by the good Matt Damon. He has one big serious face throughout the movie and seems like he has forgotten to smile. At one point he bites his own tongue and gets shot by Cogburn. And then hit hard by a rock on the head. Quite a serious character but hilarious at the same time played very well. 

The story has a good flow and a neat ending. Worth watching!

Genre: Drama, Western, Adventure

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers: Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld