Cold in July (2014) – Ratings: Genre 4/5, Overall 3.5/5

This is the second time I’m seeing a thriller which has control in this year. After Blue Ruin, 2014 throws this movie which comes with a strong theme and elements of surprises written all over it. Cold in July has perfect flow, good performances and power to keep the viewer gazing till the end.

When a common man shoots and kills an intruder in his house the police quickly files for self-defense and close the case. But when the dead criminal’s father seeks revenge things takes a different route all together.  However the shooter and the criminals father discover some shocking truth about the whole trail of events that has taken place and realizes that the plot is deeper than what it seems.

What I like about Cold in July is its rapid evolving story line. The story moves from phase to phase fairly fast and with each step it brings in new bends to the story along with new characters. With each step the plot becomes stronger and makes the viewer guessing more for things to come. The surprising fact is that all these phases has a strength of its own and for the viewer its pretty much looks like its gonna be the ending phase. But the movie surprises the viewer yet again and moves another step towards a darker and unknown territory effectively.

I like Michael C. Halls performance quite much. We don’t see him often in movies to be honest but made some real mark with his striking TV performances as the gay funeral director in Six Feet Under and the serial killer with a code in Dexter. Here he plays a normal family man character who is calm and not heroic eventually turns in to someone who is driven by right emotions to take heavy risks. This is where I see the similarity between Blue Ruin (2014) and Cold in July. Both these movies have normal people characters in them yet come out with powerful story all together.

The weakness I see in Cold in July is its far-fetched action sequences especially in places where the main character appears. The phase where he goes from nobody to a killer seems to be too fast. But this fact does not weaken the movie too much as the other elements holds the plot strong enough.

-Priyantha Bandara

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) – Ratings : Genre 3.5/5 Overall 2/5

Hay the American West was bad and we know it. But I never knew it was this hilariously bad. This movie picks up some obvious facts from the 18’s USA and sums it up to be a predictable yet a very funny comedy. With cocky dirty humor without limits and sarcasm written all over it the people who can digest this will certainly like it.

Albert (Seth MacFarlane) who is a cowardly sheep farmer and a man with a big broken heart after his girlfriend dumped him decides that it’s finally time to leave the pathetic small town he was living in the West. But soon he is touched by the mysterious Anna (Charlize Theron) who happens to arrive in the town. But he is yet to realize that Anna is full of surprises and most of them will get him killed.

A Millions Ways to Die in the West is a very straight forward comedy and I take it to be positive. Comedies should be light weighted and should have little surprises. All the fans want is to have a good time watching it and get back to their not so hilarious lives in a jiffy. This movie does its job well though it may not be crowned as the best comedy ever produced. Scene after scene it throws in some really hilarious lines and some of them are so funny that you might lose the next few lines while laughing.

Acting wise there is plenty to laugh about and definitely Theron proves that she is a stunner even in vintage clothing and natural looking makeup. There are quite a few surprising appearances of guest casts who are well known who are capable of raising a brow. All in all this movie packs some real funny goodies and some of them might taste like horse shit. But it’s okay!!

Genre: Comedy

Director: Seth MacFarlane

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Ratings: Overall 3/5 | Genre 4.5/5

Tom Cruise movies sell. I mean they really sell. But when the movie is equally good as Tom himself and it can pull some really mind blowing stunts without making the viewers to worry about the huge plot holes it is definitely a blockbuster. Edge of Tomorrow is a fresh look at the age old sci fi genre that based on alien invasions and courage’s humans who defeat them. And it’s the modern day Independence Day movie and it seriously rocks the foundations of sci fi that came out lately. Huge production, staggering CG and awesome acting makes Edge of Tomorrow one of the best action sci fi’s lately. I wish I can say the same about the plot but though it is amazing at a glance there are plenty of places it fails. But it doesn’t matter when you start to watch because it’s so entertaining that some of your senses get instantly freeze. 

In not so distant future the world is invaded by an alien race known as Mimics. The world is at war and seems like the humans are capable of defeating them. Major Cage (Tom Cruise) who is a publicity agent for the ARMY than a real soldier is sent to the front line of the crucial battle against Mimics without his will. Cage finds himself terrified and helpless when the battle becomes bloodier and a massacre of humans than expected. But coincidentally he discovers a way to manipulate time and relive the same battle and perfect it to realize that the aliens can be defeated using a different strategy. Rita (Emily Blunt) a fellow soldier joins him for the ride. 

The plot here is very creative. When the real time travel or time loop hits the center stage the whole phase and the feel of the movie quickly changes. This is where it gets the true edge against other similar alien invasion movies and the tight grip remains till the very end. While some viewers can be utterly confused by the fact of this time loop and the repeating scenes I’m sure no one would lose interest of the movie because of it. The element of surprise is very good and movie throws in some real candy for the viewers without delays. The flow and the phase is indeed appealing and the peaks and off peaks are well balanced. However as mentioned earlier the plot has many weak points and as a sci fi that makes sense Edge of Tomorrow is far behind. 

Tom has a history of alien invasion movies such as War of the Worlds (2005) and one of my personal favorite Oblivion (2013). Edge of Tomorrow is another jewel for his collection proving that he is still hot as he used to be decades back. Emily Blunt is sharp and very well fit for her role. The duo does a perfect job on the set and they spark while the aliens bleed. 

What makes Edge of Tomorrow is so good is its action and animation. They hit you very unexpectedly and some scenes are so majestic and detailed that you might feel that one viewing is not good enough. Starting from the production to the finishing touch of sound this movie is a true action flick and no one can say otherwise. 

Genre: Action | Sci Fi

Director: Doug Liman

Night Moves (2013) – Ratings: Genre 4/5 | Overall 3.5/5

Soon as you start watching Night Moves the first things you will realize that it’s very slow. It takes a painful amount of time to get in to the plot and keeps the viewer guessing forever. By the time it hits a certain point where the plot starts to form solidly most viewers could have left the place. But if you manage to wait till that certain point the rest of the movie will be a delighting one. The thing is Night Moves doesn’t have a proper start or a proper ending. It is the mid section of a long story and we are left to decide on the way it started and how it would have ended. That’s a kind of risky movie making. 

Josh, Dena and Harmon (Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard) are three radical environmentalists. They believe that an extreme action would change the minds of others and send a strong message to the people who they want their voice heard. The trio carefully plans a certain activity which puts them in a tight situation and at the end of it they find out that they are not the only people who got affected by it. Post stress starts to build and they begin to lose the grip.

Though how slow Night Moves could be it is stitched with a very prominent and informative sequel of carefully chosen scenes. Once you’re done with the movie you will realize that every scene makes good sense and the viewer has become a part of the trio’s journey. There is good cinematography, effective score and dark mood all over the place, and definitely very good performances by all three main casts. 

Regarding the plot it is sound and extraordinary. Come to think of it it’s very simple in a way but deep and complicated on the other hand. Night Moves deserves the recognition it had got from the critics and fans alike. It’s a fine piece of dramatic cinema that’s woven wonderfully and powerfully character driven. 

Genre: Drama | Thriller

Director: Peter Sarsgaard

Coldwater (2013) - Ratings: Genre 3.5/5 | Overall 3/5

Just as the name goes Coldwater is a stone cold story about abuse and survival. But it’s a different kind than we often see on the movies. The story moves out of the abusive culture which exists in the common society and explores a certain layer of systematic abuse which exists in a more controlled environment which is governed by the authorities in the name of rehabilitation. 

Brad (P.J. Boudousqué) is sent to a juvenile reform facility by his parents following his history of troubles with the law.  Soon after he arrives at the location he realizes that this place is much worse than the detention centers he has served time earlier. While the techniques and routine takes a toll on the detainees Brad struggles to get out of the place. After a failed attempt and severe punishment his goals change to fight against the system than freeing himself. 

Coldwater is a slow moving yet applying drama. It is quite horrific and painful to get through as well. But the violence is done up to a certain point where it delivers the message and nothing else. The drama and the characters and their struggle overcome the violence element and due to this Coldwater become one of the few movies which positively get away with it. There is a good flow and mostly the story bounce between two timelines of Brad’s life. While the movie creates a good interest of things to come it delivers certain element of surprises as well. However, for some reason I wish that the ending was different and we could witness a Brad who stood up for his beliefs than becoming a victim of it. 

Though for some viewers Coldwater could be a painful memory, as a movie it is different and effective. There is good acting from many less known talents and decent cinematography to get by. 

Genre: Drama

Director: Vincent Grashaw

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007) Ratings: Genre 3.5/5 | Overall 2.5/5

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is the brilliant second installment of the Appleseed (2004). It’s a continuation to the futuristic plot surrounding human girl Deunan Knute and her Hybrid worrier boyfriend Brialeos Hecatombcales. This is a continue to the Appleseed (2004) story line by taking it further towards the future and brings in better animation and better actions sequences to life. 

This time Duenan and Brialeos team up with a Bioroid Tereus who is created using DNA of Brialeos. While this takes a toll on both Duenan and Brialeos emotions they keep it aside and fight a common terrorist who threatens to disturb the known life at the Utopian city of Olympus. When the world satellite networks falls on the hand of this high tech and visionary terrorist and humans and bioroids becomes his slaves Olympuse’s own force E.S.W.A.T struggles to save the city. 

There are clear improvements to the animation quality of this movie from its predecessor with more details and more clarity and bigger and better conceptual thinking involved. Even the machinery and the war craft itself has improved. There are few familiar characters continuing their appearance in their new CG form and both Duenan and Brialeos are in their full glory with better detailing. Same goes with action sequences as well. The first half hour of the movie maybe has too much of a dose of action but soon the story falls in to place and calm down a bit. 

Talking of the plot it is slightly less appealing than from its big brother. Maybe since the viewers are already familiar with the base of Appleseed and this movie is not delivering anything extraordinary or surprising. But there is good flow though it has noticeable plot holes and weak points. But the emotions between the two main characters are somewhat deeply revealed and their relationship evolves to a new stage. 

All in all Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is a clear improvement to its predecessor and worth checking out. As this would be last known installment of the story and the latest installment after this is a prequel. 

Genre: Animation | Action | Sci Fi

Director: Shinji Aramaki