Blue Jasmine (2013) Rating 3.5/5

With the good combination of strong acting by Cate Blanchett and the smooth yet effective direction and writing of Woody Allen, comes this beautiful movie Blue Jasmine that gave me mixed feelings. It is a somewhat powerful drama yet has a sense of humor. For me that seems to be a bit of a mismatch. 

Cate plays the character of Jasmine who arrives at her sister’s house after going through a series of tragic experiences in her life broken and beaten looking for a fresh start. While trying to escape her past of luxury and wealth which does not exist anymore Jasmine seems to be engulfing in it than rather letting it go. And she finds some new goals to look forward to. 

The plot and the way it unfold is the key success of this movie apart from the most noticeable talented performance by Cate. She completely drives the character Jasmine in a way that the viewer would feel her every breath and electric signals in the brain. And Jasmine requires such strong performance to be memorable which Cate delivers lavishly. For the viewer there is always the fact of surprise and something to look forward to with every key turn of the plot. This got beautiful stuff in it with colorful sites and people. 

What made me confused a bit was the secondary story lines which runs unrelated to Jasmine’s one. I was hoping that they would make strong sense but till the end it didn’t. Due to that the core plot seems to be diluted and the real strong drama has lessened. Without them the viewer could have had a strong connection with Jasmine than wondering about.

Nebraska (2013) Rating 4/5

This contemporary black and white drama is a mix of humor and a good deal of sentimental value is sure a heartwarming piece of movie from 2013. It has brilliant cinematography and flow which works hand in hand creating a memorable movie experience. And the plot makes you stick to it really good.

Old man Woody Grant comes to believe that he won a million dollars after he receives a sweepstakes notice in the mail which clearly is bogus. After several failed attempts of walking to Nebraska to claim the prize money his younger son David decides that taking his father where he wants to go and to make him see for himself would be the ideal way to solve the problem. And during this journey together David finds a different perspective of his father which he has never saw before. 

Being a movie which has many very old casts in it and made in dull black and white the director has taken a leap of faith towards making this. And maybe even fans would think twice before seeing it as it doesn’t look appealing as most of the movies you come across nowwa days. But Nebraska is one fine movie that will make you forget your day to day busy schedule and all the worries for a bit. Because it is a story of warmth set in a cold place. And this well deserves to be in the Oscar nominations this year unlike some titles that doesn’t fit the bill.  

Thor: The Dark World (2013) Rating 3/5

 

Marvel movies are evolving and cannot say that most of them are for the good. Comics based movies are becoming more and more insanely action packed to the limit that viewers get a headache half way. But Thor as it was in its first movie has everything balanced. Story, humor and action works hand in hand and here it delivers yet another enjoyable super hero adventure. 

This time Thor faces another brutal enemy Malekith and to fight it he has to seek the help of Loki his brother who have betrayed him and spends the rest of his life in the dungeon. When Malekith unleash the evil weapon that threatens the whole nine realms, Thor stands in way to save the day. 

This one is packed with serious CG and some fantastic set designs. At times it reminds of the middle earth and at time it looks like a scene from a galaxy far far way from Star Wars. And Chris Hemsworth yet again pumps adrenaline to Thor with his bulked up body and heavy voice with the Australian accent. 

All in all Thor: The Dark World is a very watchable adventure that has a quite a happy vibe to the end. And thankfully only a little part of England is harmed while making it.

12 Years a Slave (2013) Rating 5/5

12 Years a Slave (2013) Rating 5/5

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!! Starting from the tragic plot up to the tear jerking performances and beyond fantastic direction, 12 years of a Slave is one of those movies that you have to see before you die. And it’s beyond your imaginations and previously seeing movie that speaks of American slavery. This heart breaking yet amazing story unwind one of the most brutal yet then vastly accepted slave trade that the world has witnessed up until not so long ago. And this movie is ruthless beyond comprehension for the modern man to even understand the gravity of the crimes committed in the name of slavery and once your done watching this you might turn in to a different human being.

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup, who lives in 1800’s in New York was a free man up until he gets kidnapped and sold to work in plantations in New Orleans. From that point onwards his sole intention is to return to his wife and 2 kids. With months and years passing by while changing from one brutal master to the other he does not give up on his dream. And for him survival becomes the number one priority while witnessing and experiencing some of the most horrific things in his life as a slave.

12 Years of Slave packs some stunning performances starting from the lead to the number of famous cast picked even to carry out minor roles. Among them Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender delivers extra fuel to the heat. It seems like director Steve Mcqueen has built one of the most successful screen team this year. And it is highly effective.

Though how hard it is maybe to get through this movie when all that misery sinks in to your heart and mind, 12 Years of Slave will give you a new perspective for life. Nothing is this world is fair but even that has to have limits.

American Hustle (2013) Rating 3/5

Set in late 70s and equipped with some catchy up beat music from the era, American Hustle is a movie that can keep the fans entertained. However, even though it’s supposed to be a serious drama it feels like a comedy for a good long time. And then it hit a certain hype which all in all is not so extremely entertaining. And then it dies off.

The story is about a con man Irvin and his partner Sydney who are being used by the FBI to track larger corruption dealings of politicians and mafia. However Irvin and Sydney have plans of their own which the crazy FBI agent DiMaso suspects less of.

 Thought there is much hype created around this movie for its direction and performances it certainly does not fall to exceptional category. There has being plenty of movies that has con men in it and almost all of them has a surprise ending. The problem with American Hustle is that things are too predictable. And the hype fades quite fast. What are good about American Hustle are Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence. Yet still it carries average performances.

Gravity (2013) Rating 5/5

This is not movie making. It is how you create cinema history. Gravity is simply that magnificent in every way you can imagine.

When a space mission goes terribly wrong following an accident in the near orbit to the earth, two astronauts gets stuck in the abyss held only by the gravity of the planet. Poorly equipped only with their space suit tethered to each other and all communications cut off from earth they make the desperate attempt to head back to earth. Battered by challenges one after the other it is a matter of time they lose hope of ever returning to the blue planet. Yet determination above all keeps them alive.

I thought I will never watch the same movie twice in a single day. But Gravity pulled me back and I couldn't escape it. And I must say the second viewing was more powerful than the first one.

Gravity combines several powerful elements together so masterfully and offers the space in a platter like you have never seeing before. Script - touching and emotional. Acting – Brilliant, Cinematography – Outstanding, Music – Heart pounding. There were moments I started to shiver and felt like I’m suffocating and at that minute I was in the movie with the characters and my only intention was to escape.  

This movie simply is the most detailed space thriller I have ever witnessed. There may be minor flaws and science geniuses may not agree. But for being a science fiction such brilliance from a movie cannot be even expected.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Rating 4/5

To sum up the plot, when Ron Woodroof who is a freewheeling cowboy from Texas get the worst massage from the doctors that he is infected with HIV and has 30 days to live the world stops for a minute. The year is 1985 where the world waking up to AIDS and knew very less about it makes things more difficult. But just as he always did he finds stamina to keep going and look for extreme methods to keep alive. While the US approved medicine system provides less hope he turns in to unapproved alternative medicine. For this he cross borders and becomes a usual suspect in the justice system. Ultimately he establishes a large group with equal minds and challenges the system.

The most mind blowing part of this movie is Matthew McConaughey. Keeping aside his striking thin looks he gives a life time performance which indeed is will be remembered by anyone who watches this. And he clearly has a shot at the Oscars this year and we are yet to find out. And Jared Leto gives in another fantastic performance which sets Dallas Buyers Club on a new scale of acting. Being a movie with such complex characters this indeed is a supreme effort by many.

While this being a movie that speaks of a sensitive subject and portrayed very powerfully by a set of talented actors, I find it difficult to place it among the category of greatest movies. For a good deal of the time I felt like I’m watching a documentary. And ‘maybe’ Milk was powerful than this being another true story and carrying equally top class performances. But this is definitely one of the best movies of 2013 and no one can challenge that.