RIO (2011)

There are a lot of good animations hitting the screen these days. Yet there are very few ‘awesome’ animations. I’m afraid Rio is not falling in the awesome category. Maybe the first reason is that it’s based on birds (Which are a part of animal kingdom) and we have seeing a good load of speaking animals already. 

Blu is a domestic Macau. Bought up in with the care of Linda who is a young book store owner in Minnesota, Blu has no knowledge of what so ever about the real world out of the glass window. But he practically loved the life in side. After a surplice visit from Tulio who is a Brazilian Ornithologist it’s revealed that Blu is the last male of his kind. And next thing he is on a place to Brazil with Linda and Tulio in order to meet the last female of his kind. In Brazil he finds the freedom of his life and the companion of his heart when the couple gets kidnapped by bird smugglers. 

The plot is quite unique. And it’s pulled off with wonderful animation, splendid voice acting and darn good music. But like I mentioned before it lacks some punch. The thing which gives the wow factor is not to be found. 

There have being many animations about animals, birds and fishes in the near history. Some have made us jump out of our seats practically. And now the industry is changing. And nowadays if you want people to say AWESOME it has to be something like Wall-e or UP. Something so unique and never seeing before. And this is not like that. 

So I just watch a cool animation about birds. And that’s about it. 

My Score 3/5

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Writers: Carlos Saldanha (story), Earl Richey Jones (story)

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez

IRONCLAD (2011)

 

In 13^th century England the tyrant king John is once defeated by the rebellion and the historical Magna Carta is signed. But when the people thought that the king is to rule by the new laws he fights back with the support of a foreign Dutch army at his side. Massacring the people who forced him to sign the Magna Carta and claiming back his land King John becomes unmerciful. This is when a brave set of men including Knights Templers and few other worriers decide to defend the country against the king and start their battle with the critical strong hold Rochester Castle. 

Ironclad is a very strong movie about heroism, bravery and dignity. The story is based on actual historical events which add more value. 

It’s kind of fast moving. It doesn’t drag itself in too dramatic scenes or in actions sequences. Everything seems to be well balanced. And the good cinematography brings in the real punch in to action sequences overall. Most of the action sequences are closely captured with lot of blood and gore (Be warned). The historical details and the sets look wonderful. 

And the performance of the actors is good as well. The casting fits. Especially the character of King John which is done by Paul Giamatti is simply brings in heat and he performs it very well.  

Overall Ironclad is a good watch. Not boring but a little disturbing if you are not a fan of gore. But then again it brings in more drama in to the movie. Shows how brutal the wars at that age must have being. 

My Score 3.5/5

Genre: Action, Adventure, History

Director: Jonathan English

Writers:  Jonathan English (story), Erick Kastel

Stars: Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng and Brian Cox

WRECKED (2011)

 “Wrecked” is a quite slow moving and a painful drama wrapped in a mystery shell. The plot is rather straightforward at start but then it begin to throw quite a number of mysteries and at the same time solving them one by one as it goes. But the real twist comes at the end which ultimately makes you wonder WTF (You can either say what the f… or Well that’s fantastic on this one!)

Basically the whole story is about a ‘man’ (Adrian Broody) who wakes up in a wrecked car in the middle of woods. Don’t bother who is this ‘man’ as the movie never reveals it. His leg is stuck under the dashboard and one guy who he doesn’t know is dead on the back seat with severe injuries. And in front a bit far away there is another man dead supposedly the driver of the car who exited via the windscreen. So this ‘man’ after living with pain and hunger in one place for few days ultimately manages to get out of wrecked vehicle and realizes that his leg is severely damaged. And the bigger issue he faces is that he cannot remember how he got there and even who he actually is. When he gets some hints of who he can be by examining the rubble around him, he ultimately decide that it’s wise to hide away in the woods than being discovered by anyone. 

This flick hardly has any dialogues. But lot of mourning, cursing and hallucinations to fill the gap. I can’t actually say that it’s boring. Well maybe if you expect it to go a bit faster or get bored of seeing the ‘man’ either sitting in one place for a long time or moving around the woods with a mysterious dog friend who appears from nowhere.   At the start it looks a wee bit like the ‘Buried’. (But Buried was better). 

When it comes to acting there is only almost one actor in the whole flick and that’s Adrian Broody. The others are either corpses or one alive but almost good as dead. And the performance by Broody is simply awesome. 

My Score 3/5

Genre: Thriller, Mystery,

Director: Michael Greenspan

Writer: Christopher Dodd (screenplay)

Stars: Adrien Brody, Caroline Dhavernas and Ryan Robbins

SOURCE CODE (2011)

If I use one line to explain Source Code that would be “Practically impossible yet nail bitingly bloody entertaining”

 Captain Colter Stevens suddenly realizes that he is not where he is supposed to be. He is inside another man’s body and travelling in a train to Chicago. What he can remember last was flying a helicopter in Afghanistan. Soon he realizes that he is on a mission that none has taken before and his objective is to get in to roots of a bomb explosion which will take place in 8 mts. Not knowing how he ended up there at the first place and getting little help from the people at the commanding center, Capt Stevens has no option but to complete his mission. And he discovers that he is a part of a top government experiment where he is transferred to a dead man’s final 8 minutes of consciousness. He painfully relives the 8 mts over and over again to gather evidence of the bomb blast and to prevent a different catastrophe that is yet to unfold by the same bomber. 

The flick is a bucket of confusion from the start. And that’s where the entertainment is. You get to know very little of the characters in the movie at the first and expect a lot from them right throughout. You feel like there is a big mystery hidden somewhere but the movie gives you just small hints only. Just like Capt Stevens the viewer would struggle to unfold the dilemma and connect the dots each time a new 8 mts cycle starts. But when the truth is revealed it will blow you away and somewhat breaks your heart in the process. 

This movie is well structured. As I mentioned at the start it’s doubtful how much the plot is close to real science but the mere interesting execution of what’s suppose to be a big ‘lie’ will make you forget all the glitches. 

Genre: Sci Fi, Mystery, Thriller

Director: Duncan Jones

Writer: Ben Ripley

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga

13 ASSASSINS (2011)

Takashi Miike gives a new face to the 1963 classic ‘13 Assassins’ and he has executed it at grandeur level portraying an event which took place in Japans feudal era. 

When an evil and sadistic lord is bringing horror to countrymen, few Samurais who were once loyal to the throne foresee a greater danger. If this Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira plunges himself to the throne in near future the country will be devastated and torn with war. Thus these brave set of men creates a silent and elite secret force in order to assassinate the lord. Gathering only 13 men to their force they fearlessly goes head to head against an army of 200 to fulfill their goal. Brutal and merciless Samurai swords speak for themselves. 

This movie is a wonder of its own creation. It brings out ancient lifestyle of Japan in to light with details. And more than that the spirit of the brave Samurais are making the plot truly strong and when they fall and die one by one still they keep the heads high and hearts strong. Courage and determination of a worrier may not seem this strong in any recent movie which I recall. 

However be warned that 13 Assassins is not an easy movie to digest. It has blood and gore in great volumes and violence sometimes you might not really expect. Yet they are important in order make the story run to your blood stream. And once the war hits the screen after a long and silent slow momentum, it goes right until the end which is nearly 30-40 mts. So you might actually lose the count of killing. 

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Director: Takashi Miike

Writers: Kaneo Ikegami (based on a screenplay by), Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)

Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada and Yûsuke Iseya

HENRY'S CRIME (2010)

Henry is kind of a mysterious and a silent individual. He works for a tollbooth and one day thinking he is going to a baseball game he goes to a bank robbery with his school time friends. Get caught and spends time in prison for a crime he had very little involvement. But when he was released he has less to return for. Puzzled and no one to look up for he suddenly realize that his life in prison is not worth as he didn’t rob the bank at the first place. So he plans to rob the bank. In the process he teams up with a buddy from the prison and fall in love with a stage actress.

This movie is quite slow, and quite. It has a certain amount of thrill in it but the whole plot is quiet predictable at one point. Though things like doing time in prison, losing a marriage and robbing a bank are actually pretty intense and hard to get by things in other movies, in ‘Henry’s Crime’ they all looks like walking in the park. What’s intense in this flick is falling in love, trying to hang on to something and finding the purpose of life. 

I wonder if Keanu Reeves full potential is used here. And so do the other actors as well. If there is any sense of good acting comes out from any one that would be from Vera Farmiga who is the stage actress girlfriend of Henry. 

Henry’s Crime is not a boring movie. But it’s a different movie. And it will not leave you anything important as such to remember after some time. 

Genre: Crime, Romance, Drama

Director: Malcolm Venville

Writers: Sacha Gervasi (screenplay), David N. White

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga and James Caan

LIMITLESS (2011)

Limitless is a well crafted scientific crime thriller with a super velocity execution. Starting from the opening titles it will grab you in to a world where natural minds status of sanity continuously collides with a supernatural mind state which is dangerously close to insanity. 

Eddie Morra is a broken down writer with empty bank account and a regrettable past. While he is trying to get back in track with a book deal he recently got, he struggles to come up with new ideas until he coincidently meet his ex-brother-in-law Vernon. After taking a pill given by Vernon, Eddie’s life starts to change in lightning speed. The drugs accelerates Eddie’s brain power and improves everything he puts his mind in to. He becomes a super human but not in physical power but in thinking power. After completing a half of his new book over night Eddie goes back to Vernon asking for another does. After finding Vernon’s dead body in his apartment Eddie realize that he has become a part of a deadly game and this drug is his only savior. Armed with a full doze of drugs Eddie steps out to conquer the corporate world. With many enemies trying to grab a piece of his secret Eddie jumps up the ladder and enter new heights while playing the cat and mouse game of his life.

The script of Limitless is filled with near impossible scenarios, starting from the miraculous brain performance enhancing drug. BUT the mere executions of this plot is simply worth seeing. Embedded with unique computer graphics and cinematography the movie will squeeze in to the viewers mind and drags him along the joy ride just as Eddie experience it. In one scene where Eddie goes on a total 18 hour blackout and suddenly comes back to reality, it feels as if it actually happened to you. That I call is gorgeous movie making. 

Limitless is one of the most entertaining science fictions I have seeing in recent times. And it moves so fast if you stop to think you lose the game big time!

Genre: Sci Fi, Thriller, Mystery

Director: Neil Burger

Writers:  Leslie Dixon (screenplay), Alan Glynn (novel)

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel and Abbie Cornish

TRANSPORTER trilogy (2001,2005,2008)

Transporter is not an alien movie series for many of you by now. It had started its first installment back in 2001 and it was quite a huge success for a mundane action flick with a one man hero approach. And then after the success of the first installment the second which is ‘Transporter 2’ was released in 2005. With bigger and better action than the first that was a memorable movie as well. In 2008 the final of the trilogy ‘Transporter 3’ was released. And by far even though it had less explosions and comparing with the first two it had quite a good action sequences. 

Transporter is based on a driver. A driver name Frank who is ex military, well trained and lethal. Who is excellent in hand to hand combat and more so in driving. He drives his own cars which are top of the range sedans by Audi in all 3 movies. His profession is delivery. Not just delivery but deliveries which anyone else would not dare to accept. He works with few rules of his own, punctual and always dependable on what he does. Thus the jobs he get often tends to put him in danger or in very unpleasant situations. But trusting his rides to be his best friend and the skills to be his savior, Frank cheats death a dozen times.

The spirit of the Transporter trilogy is the thumping action performance by Jason Statham, fast shiny cars and sexy women with short skirts. When all these 3 combined it is a high octane formula which combust right in front of the screen. 

Transporter most of the time is filled with utter bullshit and never can be true action sequences which almost all the time defines gravity and all theories of physics. Yet there is something which just makes you glue to it. Maybe it is the action, cars and woman all together or at least one for that matter. 

This trilogy is not an awesome one but it is very entertaining if you can digest some big lies. Maybe for some fans the purpose of transporters existence can be a puzzle (And that includes me). I mean who really need a external ‘driver’ with such skill to deliver a package from one place to another when there are so many other means of doing it by their own! Some food for thought any way. But then again who want to worry about those details. The movie is kick ass!!

K-PAX (2001)

 

  When Dr. Mark Powell started his usual day at the public mental hospital where he works, he must have had different expectation of patients. But when a patient called Prot is allocated to him for diagnosis with an introduction ‘Like a pussy cat’, he finds himself quite involved more than usual. Prot claims that he comes from a planet called K-Pax and he is on a mission. While the good doctor tries to unfold the true identity of this mysterious ‘alien’ he finds himself amusingly bonding with him. As Prot is very through and informative on his side of the story Dr. Mark finds it challenging to make an influence on Prot with usual medical practices. Furthermore Prot starts to convince other patients in the hospital that he is a K-Paxian and the other patients begin to create a fan group around him. And on top of all that there is a certain curiosity within the intelligent members of some areas if Prot is actually who he says him to be as he poses some great knowledge which is still unknown to many. 

K-Pax is a movie which has very little ups and downs in the mood. It almost runs in a mid phase throughout. There is neither loud music nor moments of thrill unless there is one which last only few seconds rarely.  And the whole movie is like a big conversation that happens between two people. And these two characters dominate the whole movie and without knowing we become witnesses to a medical investigation. 

Jeff Brdiges (Dr. Powell) and Kevin Spacey (Prot) makes a wonderful pair and simply strong in their character representation. They have totally different two ends to their roles and how they try to connect it together is simply fascinating. I must say that along with this lovely performance the plot works very uniquely without making the viewer bored. 

Having a dramatic and scientific background to it K-Pax always keeps a step ahead of the mind of the viewer. The story is completely unpredictable and much untold. Some say ‘One Flew over the Kukus Nest’ back in the day was similar but then again I personally don’t know. 

What I like about K-Pax is that it’s a story which goes beyond  the usual and shows how people can go practically insane over something and how someone can go literally insane in order to make them better.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci Fi

Director: Iain Softley

Writers:  Gene Brewer (novel), Charles Leavitt (screenplay)

Stars: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and Mary McCormack

RUN FATBOY RUN (2007)

Simon Pegg does it again. In his own British style of humor and short moments of surprised looks he nails this flick. 

The movie is about Dennis, and his x girlfriend Libby, and their kid Jake. Dennis who was once a careless man (and still is) left Libby on the altar on their wedding day 5 years back while she was pregnant and ran away! Yet Libby gives him permission to come in to her life again for the sake of Jake. Working as a security guard in a woman garment shop Dennis lives a much disorganized life, until one day he meets Whit who is a successful man from US and apparently got a crush on Libby. Realizing that he is about to loose Libby for life as Whit being a totally better person than him Dennis comes up with a crazy strategy to show his love for her. That’s to run in a marathon!!

First of all I must say that this flick is utterly hilarious. Thought it doesn’t have this one huge moment of laughter it will just keep you laughing from start to the end. Every move and word comes out of Dennis has something sarcastic, funny or towards the end more seriousness and caring. And he does conquer his quest in style. 

This movie is all about a man who decides to change himself for the only person he loves. Though he realizes it way late he quickly starts to build up a strategy and work towards it. And there are few good lessons in it. Like sticking in to a problem how hard it can be and to see it though without running away from it. 

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sport

Director: David Schwimmer

Writers: Michael Ian Black (screenplay), Simon Pegg (screenplay), and 1 more credit »

Stars: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria

ABOUT A BOY (2002)

Will (Hugh Grant) is a little over the middle age bachelor. Surprisingly he doesn’t have a job or never had one for too long, but doing quite well off with a steady income thanks to his father. As he calls himself he is an ‘Island’. Living alone in an apartment with his own little positive attitude towards it, Will fails to have a steady relationship what so ever. Until this 12 year old boy he meets up while trying to get attention from single mothers. Soon he finds interest in this boy and amidst all the issue the boy has at home they become close to each other. And then Will realizes that life has much more than just living alone with random dates to accompany him and his big CD collection. 

Coming from a Nick Hornby's best-selling novel, the script of this flick is totally entertaining. Moving back and forth from the thoughts inside Will’s head and to things what actually happens around him gives an exposure of what Will’s life and expectations are all about. Though he is a ‘self centered ignorant bastard’ he does have some thoughts of being more communicative or trying to help the people around him. But that though soon disappear and he finds himself in the same old selfish place. 

Hugh Grant does a good job on his role of portraying Will. Will is charming, smooth and uses his words carefully. And when it’s the time to slip away he just does that without hesitating. 

From an adults point of view sometimes the kid will annoy you. But then he is just a kid and life is not the same for kids as adults. Especially when he got a suicidal mom! And while this kid is craving for attention, Will the totally opposite tries to hide away in his own agenda. The whole plot is just about every emotion which is involved in this struggle. 

‘About a Boy’ is a good movie. It’s a drama yet has good humor in it. Good flow, good music and good acting. Ends well and leaves you with a good spirit! 

Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy

Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

Writers: Nick Hornby (novel), Peter Hedges (screenplay)

Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette

THE TREE (2010)

Story of the ‘The Tree’ takes place in the country side of Australia. It’s plot around Dawn O'Neil who is a mother of 4 children struggling to recover with the unexpected loss of her husband. When the father die the happiness of the family seems to ran far away and Dawn for months tries to understand the reality and put everything back together for her kids. But the youngest 8 year old daughter Simone fails to adapt to the situation and starts to believe that her father speaks to her via the big old tree in their garden. And when this tree becomes too unstable and threatens the house and the family Dawn has to decide if to chop the tree down amidst her daughter’s objection. 

The Tree has a good flow. It’s filled with little events which defines the O’Neil family and how they try to cope up with the loss of their father and the protection and income. Alongside the main attention is given towards the giant tree which holds a significant value in the family and its history. Soon the viewer starts to feel like the tree is actually a family member which keeps the family in bound to each other. And it does it for good reasons. 

Dawn’s character is a strong one. And Charlotte Gainsbourge portrays it quite skillfully. And the performance by the little Morgana Davies who plays the sweet yet stubborn Simone does a wonderful job as well. Overall the acting in the movies is quite raw and closer to reality. Thus brings viewer in to more realism with the whole situation. 

The Tree most of the time is a quite movie. With little score and few lines in between it will put the viewer in to the middle of a lonely place. But don’t let that loneliness to gulp you down. Because good movies don’t make much noise. 

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Julie Bertuccelli

Writers: Judy Pascoe (novel), Julie Bertuccelli

Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies and Marton Csokas

RANGO 2011

Coming from the director of the first Pirates of the Caribbean, and equipped with the talented voice acting of Johnny Depp, Rango is a wonderful animation movie. 

Rango is a pet Chameleon who is ordinary and very lonely without any goals of life. He accidently ends up in the Mojave Desert at a time where the town of ‘Dirt’ faces a water crisis. With his good old acting skills and all sorts of made up heroic stories, Rango fits in to the community better than he expected and becomes the new sheriff in town. And as the water crisis becomes worse and the water bank is robbed the duty calls for desperate actions from his part. Now he has to capture the water thieves and a reveal a plot behind this all to control the water supply of Dirt in order to control power. 

The quality of animation is commendable. It starts pretty decent and then ends up being quite extravagant. The whole wild west look and feel of the movie get a good boost with the music and the story telling set of owls appearing here and there with some good lines. 

The plot is itself is quite creative. Though at times it’s a bit predictable I liked the characters and how each of them plays their decent part in it. And there are some animation challenging action sequences which is pulled out very well. 

And as Rango says ‘I couldn't help but notice you noticing me noticing you’. It’s no waste of time noticing this flick. 

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writers:  John Logan (screenplay), John Logan (story)

Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Timothy Olyphant