White House Down (2013) rating 1.5/5

This movie is all about high explosions but it has very little brain. Come to think of it most of the action movies are the same way. They explode in front of your eyes but make no ripples in your mind. But comparatively with the recent Olympus Has Fallen which strangely runs in the same theme and released in the same year this is less colorful. Olympus Has Fallen opens with a bang and it keeps banging till the end. This has a little slow phase than that. But both of these movies have one thing in common apart from the obliviously similar plots. Both are dumb and their plot holes are hundred times larger than the bullet holes. And now I’m quite certain that white house is one of the easiest targets out there even it has a bunker built in. What I finally gather is that, Tatum should stick to romantic movies and Foxx should not appear in roles where the US president is a comedian. And I don’t wanna see any more movies where White House is going to pieces!

White House Down (2013) rating 1.5/5

Now You See Me (2013) Rating 2/5

Now You See Me (2013) Rating 2/5

I expected to see the Illusionist and what do I get? Simply nothing. This movie is a big unpractical scam.  And what’s funny is the only things you can really rely at the end are the magic and whenever it hits the reality its looks like fantasy. I thought magic supposed to be exactly the opposite. If a four member team can take FBI on a ride as it’s shown here and they can actually pull it off this way the director must be pretty hallucinating. And the number of plot holes in this is huge. The only reason a fan might stick with this movie is that with the expectation at the end that there will be some kind of a big twist will put everything at the right place. But closing to the end everything goes wrong one after the other. Sad to say this is a concert hall size flashy disappointment. 

Disconnect (2012) Rating – 3.5/5

Disconnect (2012) Rating – 3.5/5

Internet is swiftly at work even at the time I write this and you read this. But that same internet the place we call endless pipeline of data that makes us connect ruthlessly disconnect us from the real life out there. Though we all may not agree it is a reality for some extent. Disconnect is a masterpiece that loudly speaks of this bitter truth and the consequences of ‘life on the net’. Keeping aside the strong message that it brings, as a movie this is neatly woven. There are three different story lines that run almost parallel to each other but all three has one similarity only. And that’s where the negative impact or misuse of internet steps in. Apart from that the stories are individually unique and equally striking one over the other. The story is not a joy to witness as it gets painful with every turn. And it is one of the best I have seeing this year. Yet strangely 20 years back people would have never ever imagine that the life would be influenced this much over the technology called internet. A powerful movie. 

Kings of Summer (2013) Rating – 3/5

This is one fantastic coming of age drama you could be witnessing this year, or maybe witnessed in the past couple of years. The last movie which gave me such attention was ‘Stand by Me’ back from the 80s. For some reason some of the scenes and characters reminds me exactly to compare these two movies though the flavors are quite different. Here the teenage mind set of being independent and seeing the world in own perspective is very strongly portrayed. Freedom is the key word you will remember over heroism and that’s one key difference from the 80s classic. The clear difference between the thinking of adults and teens is at times very thought provoking. The movie swiftly flow creating beauty scene after scene while well preserving the dramatic approach. And there are moments of humor that fit right in. Within a short period of time it expresses a solid story bound with teenage fantasy and life time experiences. Performance wise maybe one of these guys would turn out to be a great actor in future.

Kings of Summer (2013) Rating – 3/5

The Heat (2013) Rating 2.5/5

Can’t say this is a great comedy but it does a decent job at making people laugh. There is more subtle humor in this than laugh out loud type. However, the character chemistry between the main 2 roles is weirdly but nicely compatible. Though Bullock has a stronger name on the show Melissa is the one that takes all the attention. Maybe this is not Bullocks strong performances at all. Though overall this does not stand up to be good as 21 Jump Street but it has its qualities.

The Heat (2013) Rating 2.5/5

Blue Velvet (1986) Rating -3/5

The David Lynch style of movie making is clearly visible in this piece as well. However it is a question if the movie was effective as much as his proclaimed piece Mulholland Drive. If someone like me expected to see a mind twisting movie like the Mulholland Drive can be somewhat disappointed at the end of this one. But when talking of having moderate expectations Blue Velvet can create some serious ripples in the mind. The story is knitted carefully with a style of mystery right from the beginning. There are visible clues, spooky camera angles, and long moments of silence that all sums up to creating a solid mystery thriller that the viewer would eagerly wait to see how it will conclude, and waiting for that big twist to happen. The letdown is that there is no big twist! However the mind get badly screwed and even after you realize that the story was what it was you still try hard to find out if there was some other meaning to it. This maybe some might call as an empty cinema.  I will not totally go in to that conclusion. But come to think of it the huge drama and hard to witness scenes of the movie sums up to nothing. All in all it has powerful cinematography, wonderful set of songs and strong performances that lets you forget the unexpected ending.

Blue Velvet (1986) Rating -3/5

Pacific Rim (2013) Rating 2.5/5

While this movie has a plot that is highly questionable in its practicality, still like any other big budget movie that makes its success with ample amount of animation and production cost (Transformers and Battleship in example) it works the magic in the screen. This however is not so great comparing to Transformers but far better than Battleship. Whatever it is it’s obvious that the actors in this movie had very little to do than talking, doing minor hand to hand and stick fighting and act as if they are piloting a robot while standing in one place. The whole movie is a success because of computer graphics made larger and larger by every scene. Speaking of acting the real true part of it is done by a small child and that’s only for about good 3 minutes by the sweet girls who plays Mako’s childhood version. Pacific Rim is far from being emotional or humane. It’s totally about a certain type of war and lots and lots of moving metal in water and in the cover of night. Briefly it is very entertaining but soon it turns in to mundane act of repeated fury. But there is something that keeps the viewer intact. Maybe it’s the action or maybe it’s the plot that can work this well only once. Whatever it is it’s a good run. But not a solid run. And certainly it’s a bit over rated by a certain set of robot lovers, but certainly not by movie lovers. But will it stand a good sequel? Only time can tell.

Pacific Rim (2013) Rating 2.5/5

Mulholland Drive (2001) Rating – 4/5

When you start to watch this you have no idea what you’re getting yourself in to. It’s like this ‘Inception’ where there is a dream inside a dream. But here you really cannot explain it that easily. Was it a dream or was it some bizarre sequence of events that took place for real is one of the biggest questions the viewer left out with. And trust me the questions do not end there. If you get together in a group and watch this one time you will hear many contradicting theories of what went down. But none maybe what’s ‘really’ gone down. There are numerous clues, twists and subtle glimpses of things which the viewer may not be able to explain in one go. This quality makes Mulholland Drive one of the trickiest and mind frying movie experiences ever.

Performance wise it’s brilliant. Watts deliver a strong performance along with other supporting roles. The thrills, suspense and even sex are equally powerful and grab the viewer from the spinal code just when you don’t expect it. When the movie hits the somewhat separately noticeable second half all the theories the viewer had about the first half is ruthlessly destroyed. And to make it worse a fresh set of mind boggling mysteries takes its place. If you find yourself stunned or lost or even angry when the end titles rolling, remember this crucial truth. You are not alone!

Mulholland Drive (2001) Rating – 4/5

The Lone Ranger (2013) - Rating 3/5

For 2 reasons this movie is simply wonderful. It’s hilarious and at the same time seriously strong in action and adventure. And by doing them both in the mix it seldom goes dumb. We know hardly comes a movie that has its genre as action comedy and works the magic. But this does it well. And hay, do not expect this to be another Pirate’s of the Caribbean because Depp comes in or Django Unchained because it’s Wild West. This has its own flavor and it tastes good. Depp definitely does his thing and everytime he appears its assured to be funny. And every single line he mutters (even ‘oh’) is a matter to laugh. However when it comes to the length it’s pretty long. 2 and ½ hours is not a joke. Could have made it a bit short but still it’s not a pain to watch for that long in my opinion.  With a bit of predictable twists this is a good watch overall. No regrets!!

The Lone Ranger (2013) Rating 3/5