PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011)

Jack Sparrow maybe the most untruthful two tongued character every lived on the cinema screen.  But he proves that he will survive and turn even the darkest failures of his life in to advantages. And this time he is back for more adventure and brings in a ship full of action and pirate attitude. 

In this fourth installment of the famous Pirate of the Caribbean franchise, Jack Sparrow is on the hunt to find the Fountain of Youth. While looking for a ship to sail for his destination he is unwillingly coupled with the vicious pirate Blackbeard and his daughter. Soon Jack finds out that even Barbosa is in the race to the fountain and see opportunities opens for him to get back his beloved ship, the Black Pearl. 

What’s good about the flick is that it’s always filled with fun what Jack brings to it. The character well played by the amazing Johnnie Depp is truly significant. And there is plenty of action. Escaping from the police, battling with the pirates or even Mermaids this time. And the story has a good flow without dragging. 

However there are few points which this flick is not equal or better than the previous movies. To start with Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly are missing in this edition. And then some of the sequences don’t seem really very relevant to the plot. Some action sequences appear too cluttered together and though they are done well it makes less sense. Thirdly there is lack of imagination. The previous movies were quite on the top with the imagination and fantasy department but this one really is not. It doesn’t have the WOW in it. 

My Score 3.5/5

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director: Rob Marshall

Writers: Ted Elliott (screenplay), Terry Rossio (screenplay)

Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)

In the movies language ‘This is England’ is nothing but “Bloody f… Brilliant”. Maybe it’s one of the most realistic gangster movie which portray the ugly face of England in the 80s way before the so called technological evolution and the knowledge age.

The plot speaks of the controversial social unrest which was in England at that time related to immigrants and the working class Englishmen. And persuasive enough to make you believe the harsh truth of the society’s frustration of some social problems. 

The story wraps around 12 year old Shaun who is a favorite of the bullies. While trying to find his life with his mother after losing his father to the war, Shaun doesn’t really enjoy his days around where he lives. Eventually he is introduced to a small group of adult teenagers and he finds their routine and bond too strong to let go. Being a kid of that age he gulps in to the life style and it doesn’t take long for him to go shoulder to shoulder with more serious people of more organized movement against the immigrants.

The acting is simply wonderful and very strong. Shaun played by Thomas Turgoose is one hell of a job well done. I practically felt sorry for the kid for what he is getting in to but proves himself stronger than many adults as the story rolls on. And there are other good performances as well. Especially by Stephan Graham who plays the ring leader Combo. 

I like the flow of the movie. It’s not slow and it’s not very fast either. The viewer has enough time to grab what’s going around and some of the stuff is disturbing and the language is harsh. 

My Score 4.5/5

Genre: Crime, Drama

Director: Shane Meadows

Writer: Shane Meadows

Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham and Jo Hartley

BLITZ (2011)

A killer on the loose and he is happily killing cops. A team of one bad cop and one good cop are chasing him. Sounds familiar? Well this time it’s ‘Blitz’ and earlier it was some other flicks from the past. 

Blitz is a usual crime movie. There is a very bad man who does very bad things. And there is a cop who has gone a bit bonkers and out of control taking the law in to his hands and the department seems to have had enough of him. The good department head decides to bring in fresh talent from outside to solve the cop killer’s case and the bad cop is ordered in to the team. Surprisingly the good cop and the bad cop get together and catch the nasty cop killer and give him what he deserves. 

Good thing is the bad cop is Jason Statham. This makes the movie to feel a bit special. And then I wondered if it was played by someone else weather the movie matters at all! Most probably not. 

Blitz is a very violent movie. Within 2 minutes of taking off it starts to break bones and severe sort of violence than that soon afterwards. And the story is pretty straight. This is quite strange because almost all crime thrillers have twists. But this does not until the last 5 mts of the story. Even that is not so WOW. So I’ll just call it a twist for the sake of it.

But Blitz is not a boring movie. If you like crime and mad cops you will get through this pretty well. 

My Score 3/5

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Director: Elliott Lester

Writers: Ken Bruen (novel), Nathan Parker (screenplay)

Stars: Jason Statham, Luke Evans and Aidan Gillen

ARTHUR (2011)

I expected Arthur to be funny and filthy filled with lot of cursing and stupid humor. The main reason was Russel Brand. Some of the movies which he appeared were the genre of which I mentioned earlier.

But surprisingly Arthur is a different breed. Yes it’s funny and filled with a bit of stupid humor, but it’s entertaining and not filthy at all. 

A rich playboy who doesn’t know the depths of life is forced to marry a woman of his mother’s choice. As it’s nothing about a marriage of love and more of a business proposition Arthur wants to get out. And while he is running out of options he accidently falls in love with a normal girl who he met on the streets. And now he has to choose between love and a big load of money who he inherits. 

This flick is colorful and filled with lot of joyous moments. Humor is good though the plot is a bit mundane. Reminds me of the typical ‘Bollywood’ style movies where the rich guy falls for a poor girl and the whole hell breaks loose. 

Overall it’s a light romantic comedy. No harm done watching. 

My Score : 3/5

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Director: Jason Winer

Writers: Peter Baynham (screenplay), Steve Gordon (story)

Stars: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner

FAST FIVE (2011)

I have being a fan of this high octane nail biting action franchise for a very long time now. And here comes the 5^th installment of it and it has never lost its grace.

Dominic (Vin Diesel) and O’Conner (Paul Walker) is back. And this time it’s for more of everything. More action, more cars, more guns, more crashes and more muscle. More importantly, more thumping cast including Dwayne Johnson and familiar faces from the past like Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris.

I don’t have to explain the plot that much. You all know the drill when it comes to Fast and the Furious. It’s all about stubborn bunch of gangsters led by the notorious Dominic Toretto, who rob their way out of trouble and get in to more trouble in the process. And they are specialists is the stunts they pull out with their cars. A damn they do that part like no one else can!

This time with a twist of fate and as a result of running away from old mistakes, they end up in south of their native land America and in the tropical Brazil.  After a small job goes bad, Dominic and the crew plans for the big fish with a revenge in mind. And they are faced with unexpected challenge by the special ops hunting dog Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) who stops at nothing but catching his pray. Dominic while facing the heat from the Brazilian Mafia and Hobbs both, determined to finish up with the last job that he ever wants to pull off. 

Fast Five is a massive flick than the last 4 movies of the series. It has long action sequences which almost all the time will make you forget what you are wearing and even your girlfriends name for some time. Believe me the action is that intense. Out of all the thumping sequences the very first is my favorite. And the flick features a splendid collection of cars from classics to supercars of the modern day including 1966 Ford GT40, 1970 Charger, 2010 Dodge Challenger and the super fantastic GURKHA – LAPV the armored vehicle. And that’s just 4 cars out of 21!

There is absolutely nothing wrong about Fast Five. It is what it is suppose to be. It got crazy driving and stunts that cheats death. And that’s the signature of the whole series.  

I know you won’t miss watching this. I was just telling all the above for your info. 

My Score 3.5/5

Genre: Action, Crime

Director: Justin Lin

Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)

Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson

THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY (1981)

Time is valuable. So choosing the movies you watch is critical. You watch a wrong movie for 2 hours and there goes 2 hours of your life which you cannot pull back. But if you have spent that time on ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’, then you have done something to be happy of. 

Coming back from 1981 this one is almost a classic. And believe me it will make you laugh so hard that you might pull a rib or too. 

The story starts just like a Discovery program with a simple yet informative narration and scenes about the Bushmen who lives in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. As the look alike documentary start to evolve in to a story “Xi” is introduced. Xi is a Bushman who finds a bottle of coke in the desert. Which is something he have never seeing and the whole family starts to wonder what it was for. Meanwhile on the other side of the desert rogue revolutionaries are being chased by the police. And not so far away a beautiful young lady from the city has come to teach in the missionary school and she is escorted to the rural village by Andrew who works for a Wild life preservation agency. When Xi is forced to walk many miles in order to get rid of the ‘Bottle’ he meets up with Andrew and the teacher and ultimately the revolutionaries and the army. 

Though the plot sounds a bit complicated the humor is not. It’s very light and totally fantastic. Even the narration which pops out time to time add up to it. And there is no way that you can avoid laughing. At times you might feel sorry fo Xi who just cannot properly digest what’s going around him. And at times you can totally have a good laugh with Andrew. He does some real crazy things!! 

This movie is worth watching. Not just because it’s a comedy but because it goes a bit beyond that. Might make you think a bit about life and its complications as well. And then forget most of it for a minute and just be happy. 

My Score 3.5/5

Genre: comedy

Director: Jamie Uys

Writer:  Jamie Uys

Stars: N!xau, Marius Weyers and Sandra Prinsloo

CEDAR RAPIDS (2011)

With a twist of fate Tim Leppe is selected to represent his Insurance Company in an annual convention. With butterflies all over his stomach he just takes the motivation to his hands and goes there to win the Two Diamonds award to his company. But soon he realizes that the convention is a whole different ball game and few of convention veterans guiding him through the whole process. He loses a few personnel values in exchange of new ones. 

Cedar Rapids is a movie filled with fun and moments of its own seriousness. Lippe’s character is a very joyful and optimistic one, which lightens up the whole plot. He is honest and trustworthy. This at times puts him in real awkward positions and at times makes him the hero. 

The plot is quite unique. Don’t think I have seeing a movie about insurance salesman before. Though it sounds a bit unreal to pull off, the flow does it effortlessly. Maybe the light yet cheerful acting by most of them involved makes you just laugh the whole ride till the end. 

I had a good time watching Cedar Rapids. One thing many of you will expect from a movie. Simple as that!

My Score 3/5

Genre: Comedy

Director: Miguel Arteta

Writer: Phil Johnston

Stars: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly and Anne Heche

YOUR HIGHNESS (2011)

  I’m not gonna write a complete review on this flick as its just total rubbish and waste of time. Simply this is one of the worst movies I have seeing and definitely the most stupid movie I watched this year. 

Quite sure there’s some huge dough was invested in this but failure is written in big bald letters all over. And having James Franco in it!!  Oh come on dude. What were you thinking? You went from 147 hours in 2010 and ended up in this junk!!!! AND omg Natalie Portman! You have won the Oscar for the best actress last year damn it! Are you people have gone totally insane?

If you want to know the plot read it elsewhere please. 

Genre: Comedy

My Score: 2/5

Director: David Gordon Green

Writers: Danny McBride, Ben Best

Stars: Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco

KILL THE IRISHMAN (2011)

Movies about gangsters and Mafia have taken the movie world by storm at one age. Starting from the most fantastic Godfather series and other flicks like the Scarface and Goodfellas. And now in 2011 here comes another fantastic gangster movie event ‘Kill the Irishman’ aka Bulletproof Gangster.

The plot is simple but the terrific thing is that it’s true. It’s about Irishman Danny Green who is an unstoppable tough thug who terrified the law and created a gang war in Cleveland in the 1970s. Starting from the scratch he becomes the number one gangster in the area even becoming the biggest threat to the New York Mafia ring. With his keen intelligence and personality Danny seems to be an invincible man with many failed attempts on his life.

Simply put this flick is great. It’s not just another gangster movie with gangsters go on killing each other and the bosses feast of woman and money. This movie is about personality and mostly about unprecedented courage. True everyone involved in it are thugs and murderers who should be wiped clean out of the surface of this planet. Yet at the climax you cannot help but to feel something for Danny and his crew. 

Killer performance by Ray Stevenson (Danny) and the rest of the cast. Wonderful cinematography with the classic 70’s color scheme and massive Cadillac’s which get blown in to peaces more than once. This is pure eye candy for the mob movie lovers. Don’t miss it!

Genre: Crime, Biography, Thriller

My score 4/5

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh

Writers: Jonathan Hensleigh (screenplay), Jeremy Walters (screenplay)

Stars: Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken and Vincent D'Onofrio