Generation Iron (2014)

When it comes to sports I guess Bodybuilding is the most underrated and misunderstood sport out there. The true fact is that even majority of the people who are involved in it has no idea what it really is but only the true professional bodybuilders does. And that community is very small and they strive day in and day out in the name of sport, dedication, victory and glory. The road to success of professional bodybuilding is not paved with anything soft but with amazing amounts of hard work, mind striking volumes of dedication and could be the most enduring self-discipline and control than any other sport. In fact it is not just a sport but a lifestyle which means there are no breaks, no holidays or no shortcuts. Generation Iron is a rare documentary that follow few of the best bodybuilders of our time on their way to compete on 2012 Mr. Olympia title which is the prime honor a bodyduilder can receive.

Generation Iron follows its 1977 golden classic Pumping Iron stared by Arnold Schwarzenegger and no doubt the most seeing and most talked about bodybuilding documentary ever made. Both these documentaries are made by Vlad Yudin and from 70s to now comparatively there are massive differences in movie making yet the same volume of passion for the sport is visible. The real success of Generation Iron and Pumping Iron is that it directly applies to the hearts and minds of the people who are truly faithful to the sport.

This time Generation Iron follows 3 times Mr. Olympia Phil Heath and his direct rival Kai Greene, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Victor Martinez, Hidetada Yamagishi as well as ambitious newcomer Ben Pakulski and European sensation Roelly Winklaar. For fans of the sport these are very familiar names and the movie gives lot of insight to their lifestyles and backgrounds. The movie does a fair job at giving decent and equal coverage to the story of each and it is one reason as a documentary it is a bit too long than most other of same genre. But in my opinion the length was required and it does not work negatively.

Generation Iron tries to provide important background information about the sport and the athletes for anyone who does not understand the sport. However there is always a limitation of what can be shown and how it can be understood. Maybe for anyone who does not follow this sport Generation Iron could be a bit too much to handle. And it may not change their misconceptions but fuel them a bit more. However it is understood that Generation Iron is not only a documentary about bodybuilding but it was paving its way for a certain objective which is the final show down of Mr. Olympia contest.

As a fan of the sport I certainly loved this documentary. There are only very few material of such can be found anywhere and this goes beyond a training video or just self-boosting bodybuilder movie. 

Godzilla (2014) Ratings: Genre 3/5 | Overall 2.5/5

Gareth Edwards who is the director of the latest edition of well-known Godzilla seems to be building his career with monsters, aliens and atomic bombs. His previous works give ample evidence for that fact and this time Godzilla comes with a combo of all of those. There are plenty of humongous monster action and earth shattering destruction. Seems to be like demolishing crew has hit the big city and they don’t know where to start or where to end.

I have mixed reactions toward this movie. On one side it is very good with CG and cinematography but on the other side there is nothing much to gain from the plot overall. Though the movie is supposedly centered on Godzilla in most scenes the monster takes a backseat. But that’s not entirely negative as maybe we are to see it in action in movies yet to be made. But for anyone who wanted to see lot of Godzilla in Godzilla will be somewhat disappointed. Maybe this time the movie is more concentrated on creating a Godzilla image in a different way and find its routes with the legendary Godzilla movie character  unless for hardcore fans of the comics and the previous movies for the rest it’s making little sense.

The story goes through several phases and they are not stitched perfectly to have the smoothest of flow. The movie is long and there are plenty of things happening yet we all see where it’s headed. It starts to build a solid plot concentrating on one character but suddenly the batten is handed over to someone else who seems to be less competent and enthusiastic. All of these little things make Godzilla this time quite different than previous ones. It is obvious that the director wanted to build a solid foundation from the point of humans than from the point of the monster itself. But the message will be communicated to different fans differently.

I’m not going to compare the previous Godzilla movies with this one as obviously at this age the industry has evolved quickly and more can be done on the screen. But to answer the question if the Godzilla 2014 has the same amount of heart as previous ones are up to the fans.

Genre: Action | Sci-fi | Thriller

Director: Gareth Edwards

Locke (2013) Ratings: Genre 4/5 | Overall 3.5/5

Though every director takes a challenge when they decide to do their movie project even how big or small it is, some scripts vastly differ from the majority and they pose a stronger challenge of some sort. This is a fact for most movies that are script driven and even tougher when it comes to movies that has only one actor in them. In recent past Buried (2010) and All is Lost (2013) were fine examples of such films. And 2013 brings another fine completely script driven movie from UK which is Locke. It sure is a very different movie and maybe even if you kept the whole movie thing apart and listened to it over radio there is a fair chance that you will still get the whole thing right and enjoy it. The reason why I say so is because the only probable cause this script makes a movie because there is acting and cinematography. But it will be equally promising as a sound act only.

Tom Hardy who is the one and only actor in this movie plays the character of Ivan Locke who is a construction engineer. In the brink of a historical construction event he decides to ditch it and go somewhere else to fix a mistake he have made. When he gets in to his car and starts driving he realize that there will be many challenges he have to complete to save the day and none of them will be easy as they sound.

Tom does a brilliant performance here no doubt. As he is the only living thing the viewers will see he has to be compelling to keep the show going. Ivan’s character is strong, intelligent, brave and calm. All these characteristics are portrayed while Ivan is seated in one place and only by talking to other people over the phone. It is too hard for me to explain how this is even possible in a movie but imagine how it could have being for Tom Hardy and Steven Knight (director/screenwriter) to make it happen. But the wonderful thing is as a movie it truly works and the viewer is anchored in one place giving only hints to imagine the things that must be going on in another place. It’s kind of unfair too for us as viewers as we always expect to see what’s going on but Locke doesn’t give us that luxury. But it truly makes the viewer to become this character and synch in to his situation like no other movie does.

Locke is a beautiful drama that tells a strong story about accepting responsibility in the most daring of times and parenthood. And it does is staying in one place using one actor. How fascinatingly fantastic!

Genre: Drama
Director: Steven Knight

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Ratings: Genre 4.5/5 | Overall 3/5

By the time I sat down to watch this I have already heard quite a lot from the comic fans that this is beyond what they actually hoped to see. Captain America being sort of a side roll in the Avengers and the first movie being somewhat less attractive than many other Marvel flicks I had mixed feelings. But Captain America: The Winter Soldier bitch slapped me and caught me at the first punch.  And it’s simply overwhelming to witness that this has being one of the best super hero movies up to date and for over two long hours it’s just intense and gripping as its first 10 minutes. And Chris Evans just climbed my favorite super hero ladder a few notches with a Ka-Boooom.

I don’t want to waste my words explain the plot a lot. It does what super hero movies supposed to do and it’s heroic, adventures etc with lots and lots of plot holes. But hay no one expect top notch script from a superhero movie so it doesn’t matter. But what it really matters is that Captain America: The Winter Soldier pulls off all the unimaginable and farfetched stunts so easily and the viewers are kept on the edge of their seats and it gives no time to relax. The sheer amount of mind blowing action that appears within short intervals are just awesome. And the interesting thing is one after the other they become stronger and better and has its unique twists to make them differentiate from the previous.

What make Captain America: The Winter Soldier so good is that it’s brilliant flow. There is no second wasted and no punches thrown in vain. And there is awesome sense of tense and unrest steadily built without putting too much pressure or indigestible acceleration of events. And visually the movie delivers a feast with super good CG combined with live action.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an unexpectedly good super hero movie. And it’s being a while since we have witnessed one. And it can be simply enjoyed even if anyone does not have a thorough knowledge about the previous movie or the Avengers at all. So it’s a very good standalone entertainer. Though I have no high hopes for a better Captain America in the next movie as Hollywood has this certain trend of bigger action and poor movie as the franchisees grow I have truly enjoyed this one.

Genre: Action | Adventure

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Donnie Brasco (1997) Ratings: Genre 5/5 | Overall 4.5/5

Though there are ample amount of movies based on Mobsters and the Mafia led organized crime only very few that actually is mention worthy. As we all know while Godfather remains as the undisputed godfather of modern mob movies, the list gladly follows by movies like Goodfellas (1990), Scarface (1983), Heat (1995) and The Departed (2006). And Donnie Brasco is another fine jewel that so powerful and intense in revealing the underworld life of mobsters and their painfully loyal and ruthless culture. And it’s based on the true character Donnie Brasco (Joseph Pistone in real) who was an undercover FBI agent who spent 6 long years with the mob (1975 -81) that ultimately came very closely to losing his natural life in the name of duty.

FBI agent Pistone (Johnny Depp) goes undercover as Donnie Brasco making connections with the aging hit man Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero (Al Pacino).  After building trust with Lefty he manages to move in to big leagues and participate in mob activities and gather valuable information. But at the same time due to the work pressure and the overwhelming amount of crime he witness his perception towards certain things goes through a dramatic change. While Pistones wife and kids misses their man of the house he deeply engulfs in the mob and struggles to strike a balance.

One strong reason why Donnie Brasco sinks right in to the hearts of the viewers is that it has the right flavor and mix of crime and emotional drama. While it is entirely the solely expected mob crime movie it has a much unexpected value of feelings. Especially towards the end of the movie viewers get a heavy load of it and it fuels reaching a solid ending. The positive chemistry between the main leads Depp and Pacino is another winner. Both of them have big movies and scores under their belts and the director uses them to cleverly influence the viewers. While Pacino is a household name for mob movies I recall Depp appears seldom in them and another strong one being Public Enemies back in 2009.  In this role Depp depicts an emotionless face but underneath he finely portrays the ambition and at the same time the fear which he hides inside.

The majority of the movie runs on crime but does not show crime as such. However there is one scene which is brutal and overly gruesome for even the hardest of crime movie fans. But through that scene the director gives a clear message to the viewer about the filthy reality of the mob and what Donnie has to deal while performing his duty. And no crime and mob movie is completed without a gang murder. But Donnie Brasco goes beyond being a movie about loyal gangsters and murderers.

Genre: Crime | Thriller | Drama

Director: Mike Newell

Oculus (2013) Ratings: Genre 3.5/5 | Overall 2.5/5

 Oculus has a very clever and well laid out flow. And it does a decent job at being creepy. But it’s good stops at those and the rest is not very appealing. Especially the plot which has ample amount of spaces to slip makes it an unstructured piece of old school horror and nothing ground breaking.

The movie is based on two young siblings Tim and Kaylie who get together after 11 years to solve a mystery which they have left unsolved when they were kids. After their mother was brutally killed by their father and the father was murdered by the Tim in self-defense he has spent the next ten years in a mental institution. But Tim and Kaylie both knew that the story behind the horrible incident which took place in their home was guided by a mysterious supernatural force. And this time they hope to defeat it in its own playground.

Oculus starts with a strong promising grip. And up until a certain point the story line develops well and the viewer is left with terror that pops up very effectively in short intervals. There is no lagging nor any time wasted away from the main plot. Everything is neatly explained via the script and by the time the big showdown comes the viewer is well equipped to come to their own conclusions. But the twists are well thought out and they effectively prove that most of the viewer’s assumptions are wrong. But all this ends towards the latter part of the movie and the plot falls week. And the ending is quite sudden and kind of unfulfilling. It sure has potential to become another horror franchise but I’m not positive if it would really be eagerly awaited by the fans.

Almost the entire movie takes place in closed atmospheres. Which of course is not a problem as it doesn’t look cheap in anyway. There is nothing extraordinary about the cinematography or the props and the horror. On a final note Oculus is a good horror film. But it can be easily forgotten.

Genre: Horror | Thriller

Director: Mike Flanagan