Movie#99 Adv. Lakshmanan Ladies Only (Malayalam- India)

This stars Mukesh, Jagadeesh, Ashokan, Harisree Asokan, Suraj Venjaranmoodu and a lot of others whom I'm familiar with but could not recollect their names. It is clearly a work of heart than a work of brain, I mean, the producers/ producer wanted to make a movie out of passion than a planned one with proper script and casts. Anyway, it turned out to be pretty ok, but not in my 'recommended' category.
It shows the story of Mukesh (all names mentioned will be real names), a divorce lawyer, who will go to any extent to win cases. Even when the lady has only half mind and no clear cut reason to divorce her husband, he would convince her and fabricate proof to get the divorce. The divorced lady will then be recruited to his pickle making factory run by a 'hates other men but not this lawyer' lady. One day, Mukesh gets a call from an anonymous girl who admires him. He falls in love with this girl later but the girl is chased by her previous lover. An incident later, they get married but the girl goes missing the next day. Subsequent story is about how the life of this girl and Mukesh are inter-twined, how Mukesh became such a man as this, who is the girl's ex-lover etc etc.
As I had told you before, the story is good but the script is weak. Meant mainly as a comedy peppered with seriousness, the movie was pretty ok. We could easily make out that the actors were blurting out memorized lines than improvising in the scene. Barring a few veteran actors, all others fail to bring out respective emotions in dialogues.
Considering that many of the big budget movies starring so called super stars, show stereotype roles and stupid story lines, this one is a refresher. Majority of the actors act within their capacity, I think. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#98 Legend of the Guardians- The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Jackpot! I had read the review in a magazine and the trailer shown on TV reported it as 'from the makers of Happy Feet'. And there is an owlet, Eglantine, which resemble the penguin in Happy Feet.
I should say that animation movies are definitely a better option, if there is a choice, because of the variety of storyline and advances in 'near life-like' visuals. The story is that of two owlets, Kludd and Soren, very different at heart and nature. Both get kidnapped by the Pure Ones clan, who are building an army to takeover the owl kingdom. Soren refuses to join them while Kludd got other ideas. To defeat the Pure Ones, Soren and his friends set out to find the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.
Watching the movie reminded me of the nazis and allies war. The storyline is similar as nazi considered themselves as pure breed and destined to rule over others. The allies (read US) comes from the other side of the sea (read Atlantic Ocean) to war. Even though things are different now, there is a lurking fear that the nazis could be regrouping. Same here too. The visuals of the bad owls are so similar to nazis. Maybe it is my paranoia…
Ok now, I felt very much tickled by the mannerisms and comics of a cute talkative owl, Digger. I find it to be the funniest in this movie. But I guess there are a variety of choices in character for each of the viewers. View it for a happy family movie or a romantic evening. My personal rating is 4.5 out of 5…

Movie#97 Kacheri Aarambam (Tamil- India)

Want to watch an idiotic, childish, implausible and manic depiction of a flimsy story? watch this!
I was hitting my head on the wall for renting this and wasting time. This work of art is such an entertainer that it would make us apathetic to the story, be it comical or romance or serious (huh?) or thrilling or action, unraveling in front of us. Watch it and you would get the feel that it was meant for the illiterate because every action, comedy or supposedly shrewd, had to be narrated so that the viewer could understand. It implicitly shows that the director/ producer does not have basic understanding of the literacy level of the audience or maybe they understood exactly how to make the audience in their locality understand a 'complicated' storyline. The comedian's expressions are so manic. It fails to convey the comicality in anyway.
Ok, the storyline now. Hope you understand what I type because it is very very complicated. A carefree guy, fights with his distressed, hard working and rich father after they discussed about his future, leaves his hometown and comes to Chennai to work for a stupid boss of a smuggled stuff shop for Rs 3000 pm. By fate, he was saved by a sweet and beautiful girl during one of his dazed walks (please note: whenever the girl is shown in the picture, somethings have to drop, for example–  tennis balls, heart shaped red balloons etc etc, –  absurd!). He falls in love with the girl but comes to know that the girl was also wooed by a local millionaire goon. The girl tells her tragic story of befriending the devil (goon) during a dangerous incident one night, and since then regrets that night. The hero devises the world's most ingenious plan (read stupidest) to befriend the goon and manipulates him to give the girl to him. Don't you feel the complication? Watch it to believe it. The fights are so silly and unrealistic and the heroine is just a beautiful commodity to woo in salivating wolves. Hope she was well compensated for such a degrading script.
The positives are just the songs and dance, and fast paced storyline. My personal rating is 1.5 out of 5…

Movie#96 Aagathan (Malayalam- India)

Apparently short, sweet and well executed. I find that malayalam movies and India ODI cricket team are similar, because when both loses credibility and are in the dumps, one performance changes all opinions. I have been beating down malayalam movies in my previous reviews of them and then feel that there could be something after seeing this one.
It stars Dileep, one of the most stereotype performer around, Sathyaraj,  Lal, Innocent, Biju Menon and Charmi
It shows the story of Gautam (Dileep) who has a tragic past but now successful, falling in love while on the quest for justice. The performance is different from his usual role as a comic hero. Here he is shrewd, calculating and decisive. But there is a big flaw in his planning as far as I'm concerned. How can one factor in a girl's love into a plan? Love have to be spontaneous and cannot be planned. Anyway, that is why movies are termed fantasies.
As far as the total movie is concerned, it is well taken. The story does bring forward the frailty of man, which turns him from saviour to monster in seconds. I'm not saying that it is endemic to a single country, just because 'paid news' focus on one side of the story always. In the quest to train humans to ruthless warriors, one forget to teach them humanity and love. It could be that both types of emotions antagonized each other and seconds may decide whether one lives or dies, hence it was better to teach them emotions which could ensure his survival than his opponents'.
The locales of the shoot is simply beautiful. The songs are pleasant and relaxing. It made the travel bug inside me to buzz, to pack and just go somewhere such. My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#95 Sufi Parnaja Katha (Malayalam- India)

A story from a acclaimed director, Priyanandanan. It stars some actors who are not very famous, locally. But with such performance as this, they are bound to be, soon. It has Sharbani Mukherji (actress Rani Mukherji's sister), Thampi Antony, Prakash Bare, Jagathi Sreekumar, Babu Antony, Indrans and Augustian.
It shows a state of Kerala many many years ago. The time when majority of the state is divided by caste and filled with superstitions. I'm not saying that the place had advanced into a forward thinking situation now. Even now, with high educational levels, I'm ashamed to say that superstitions still exist and religious differentiation prevails. Otherwise how does one explain the presence of and exploitation of people, by fake gurus, imams, priests and swamis in Kerala. Ok, coming back to storyline–  a girl is born into a ultra orthodox hindu family with a peculiar horoscope. She grows up into a pretty girl, loved by everyone. By fate (as indicated by horoscope–  I told you about superstitions, right?) she falls in love with a muslim trader. They elope, and she converts to islam to marry her lover. Her hindu gods come calling and she, with the help of her husband, erects a prayer room in her compound. This irritates the orthodox muslims in the locality. Tension arises within family members and also with the society. All this lead to certain expected and some unexpected endings.
My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#94 Resident Evil- Afterlife

I'm a big fan of Resident Evil series. Seeing this one, I sincerely suggest the franchise to wind up before they destroy all their good deeds. Gosh! what is this?
I find that the director lost what to bring to the theaters in terms of novelty. Maybe because there is no novelty in the storyline,  and he's at his wit's end. So he decided the next best thing, as bollywood movies–  copy. Thus, this became a clip show of Matrix stunts and the creatures/ monsters/ zombies taken from action series, Blade. Also there is another giant zombie, which I'm sure that I have had seen in another movie but could not recollect now. For all those who care and follows this franchise, the gist of the story is the same–  Alice (Milla Jovovich) resumes her quest to destroy The Umbrella Corporation. That's it, short and sweet.
The film salvages some pride from the superb back ground music which I'm sure is a good listen while driving. Other than that, the gore and encounter with creatures keep coming down episode after episode, together with logicality, such as availability of resources to keep moving on a plane and the american way of wastage of resources (fuel for fire and water), even when faced with extinction…lol. For that reason, I think the creatures did a perfect role in balancing out to save world resources. Let me move away from sarcasms now….
The stunts are stunning and the franchise promises to come back again with another episode. So, waiting with my fingers crossed. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#93 Mummy and Me (Malayalam- India)

Ok, I'm losing my interest in my mother tongue movies. I have had mentioned previously about movies that were so boring and dull but redeemed itself in the last ten to fifteen minutes. Well, this one is just the opposite! It started and progressed with so much promise, only to shoot itself on its leg at the end. What else will I term this absurd ending.
The story theme is fairly ok. It shows the relationship between daughter with mother, at times with her father and brother, infrequently with her childhood friend, and finally with a chat friend on yahoo. Archana Kavi, the Neelathamara star, plays the role of a teenage girl having problem with her mother, Urvashi. The generation gap and the rebellious nature of teen are nicely brought out. Mukesh, is the bread winner of the family and plays refree and mediator in the fights. Their family friends, family of Lalu Alex, comprising of Kunchacko Boban and Shaari as other members, contribute to the problems and happiness of the theme family.
The story fails to bring out the emotional problems underlying the rebellion of the girl. True, there is a song in which the mother's pain is portrayed nicely but teen life is seen through stereotypical eyes, such as dancing in college, enmity with colleagues etc. The middle part of the story is just plain boring. It goes with the dull line as most teen movies. The climax at the end was a shocker. Why do the director want to show the chat friend after it became clear that he had his own plans? This is where the director fails to understand his audience. The ending shows that the director wanted to convey the theme verbally than by acting. He under-estimates his audience as illiterates who would not understand anything. And another stereotypical act which is seen Suresh Gopi's movies is that need to say all dialogues twice, once in english and then in malayalam. So lame!
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#92 Helen

A gem of a movie. It stars Ashley Judd and Goran Visnjic.
The nutshell of the movie is given in a quote shown at the start, which is, “Two and a half years ago, hell came to pay me a surprise visit”– Andrew Solomon.
A working woman succumbs to the illness/ disorder she once had and recovered. She was keeping that secret from her current husband as it destroyed her previous relationship. The story is her suffering and exposing the menacing nature of the illness to the viewers. And Ashley Judd has done it with flying colours. This illness, poorly understood, but almost completely treatable, but need the acceptance of the society for recovery, is now the second most chronic illness reported. Society is to blame for the high rate of mortality through suicide because of the stigma attached to it, which prevent acceptance of treatment. Given that this illness is identical to diabetes and hypertension in terms of treatment duration and life style changes, people readily accept the latter two as 'normal' part of life and not the disorder in question.
Also so wonderfully shown is the helplessness of medical sector to provide adequate care because of the interference of law. It is true that the law was made to prevent abuse and uphold the right of an individual, but too much intrusion, claimed as 'the right', and providing that right to make decisions, back to individuals who already have had lost the ability to make correct judgment because of the illness, is absurd. In the end, the family and the patient suffers while the lawyers claim money and moral high ground. In my opinion, the law is in need of a major tweaking. This is clearly evident in the manner of questions put forth by the patient's lawyer, desperate to exhibit her skill than what is good for the patient, even when patient history suggested risk. Moreover, towards the end, we see that the suffering patient finally accepting that she need treatment. Will the law accept its mistake then?
And few other interesting things to note in the movie are, Helen's (AJ) friendship with another sufferer of such illness, with another type of presentation. She clearly tells her husband that he would not know what she was feeling and she would not blame him for it. Only such sufferers can understand each other. Then it shows the characteristic of dedicated love between a man and a woman. Her husband wait for her recovery, patiently, while fighting against his desire to move on in life. And finally, the movie shows us the dangerous outcome of this illness through an expected act.
I recommend this movie to all who cares to watch true portrayal of a sufferer called Helen. My personal rating is 5 out of 5…

Movie#91 Why did I Get Married Too

A movie that shattered my presumptions. When I took this all black cast (disclaimer: I'm not a racist, I just need a descriptive word), I thought this one would be the same as last one, and everything of this genre. Since I didn't have any choice in any other category or language, I decided to give it a try. Most of the time I avoid such movies because of the stereotypical storyline just like bollywood movies.
The gist of the story is about four couples and their relationships. They are Terry and Dianne, Marc and Angela, Gavin and Patricia and Troy and Sheila, all screen names ofcourse. Since there are too many actors, I decided not to name their real names here. If anyone is interested or is planning to watch this movie, may go to any other review site and get the actors' names. Before I go any further, I shall announce another disclaimer: I'm not a chauvinist. In this paranoid world, before any word is uttered and misunderstood and the probably sued for it, disclaimers help. Terry and Dianne seem a happy couple but there is trouble brewing which Dianne hides and Terry senses. Marc and Angela are a fighting couple because Angela always suspects Marc's fidelity because of his previous history. Gavin and Pat are another couple, in more trouble than the rest because they had endured a tragedy from which Pat never recovered, but found solace in her book publishing, instead of confiding to her partner, Gavin. Troy and Sheila are relatively new couple. Sheila had a troubled marriage and remarried to Troy, and Troy is currently unemployed, and that is causing mental tension. They meet at their vacation retreat from where the story takes off.
With the protection of the disclaimer given above, I shall say that my personal opinion is in three of the above four relationships, ladies are at fault, while in one, where the guy shows too much pride, lady suffers. If this is the situation of marriage at present context/ world, God save us!
My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#90 Legendary

It stars John Cena, Patricia Clarkson, Devon Graye and Danny Glover.
A sweet and inspirational story of two brothers. The story is that of a boy, who had a wrestling lineage, from his champion elder brother and late champion father, wanted to wrestle against the wish of his mother. This love for sports had taken both the persons away from the family emotionally, and the mother did not want to lose her remaining child. This son also wanted to get in touch with his brother which was also against the wish of mother. How the situation clears up and how a long standing issue between the family members, relating to the death of father and subsequent alienation of the elder son from mother, resolve with reconciliation, and the developing of the boy into a fighter against odds, is the story.
Cena, as usual, has a role with less emotional showing which suit him well. It seems like he is the new Jet Li/ Jackie Chan/ Bruce Lee of hollywood. I meant it in the characteristic of the roles with less emotion and dialogue only, and not with martial arts. The hero boy, plays his role well, first as a brave boy who isn't afraid to stand against bullies, then as dedicated and loving son who can't be swayed by emotional blackmail, as a younger brother to a lost soul and finally as fighter with a never say attitude. The love interest of Devon Graye (real name) is a sweet girl with a comical side.
A soft and sweet movie. Don't miss. My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#89 Paiyaa (Tamil- India)

Another fantasy from India. Since it is well known about majority of the tamil movies, that they do not have a hint of reality in them, I took it. It stars Karthi and Tamanna.
Now, leaving out the 'nil reality' part, the movie as a whole is a good package, I should say. The story is simple. A guy falls in love with a girl at first sight, fate has brought them together in an unavoidable situation. Both of them have their own secret reason, for being in that situation. And in the end, as usual, happy ending. Hey, there is nothing unpredictable to think otherwise, for anyone can guess the ending in such movies. The film has got  a pretty heroine, catchy songs and beautiful locales. It flows with all sorts of emotions, such as, carefree, romance, love, anger, fear, dejection, tension, sadness, satisfaction, you name it, it has it. A complete package!
Now, I shall mention the things you may overlook because if you search for logicality, you will feel extra emotion, not meant by the director, called irritation. The guy in the movie took the part of his carefree attitude a bit too far, in my opinion. His friends are too loyal and loving to bear him like that, with money and support. I understand that fate and coincidences play their part in everyone's life, but in this, coincidental meetings and spotting, are too high. Matters such as money is free flowing for such a broke character. Laws of physics such as time and distance are treated with disdain. And it shows that India has no law. Neck and spine breaking deaths and no arrests!
By overlooking all the above mentioned faults, I really enjoyed the movie. I shall give it a 3 out of 5. It also teaches every budding director around on how to make a fantasy.

Movie#88 Yugapurushan (Malayalam- India)

Life of Sree Narayana guru in reels. Was this movie meant to glorify his pious and dedicated life or was it to show how much his teachings and objectives had since been changed by the so called members (followers) for power and money?
When I started watching this, I had to turn off and contemplate whether I should return it and take a new one. The movie started so pompously showcasing him as a miracle man. We all know what miracles are, especially in the current context of the world. I'm not a communist or aethist but I don't believe that saints who had been approved these days, were miracle makers at all. They are just human beings who cared for their fellow humans with kindness and love, proving that God lives in us than above us. If their teachings or deeds get noticed or followed as it is, that would be blow of death to the religious leaders of current society. Then there would be no bombings, no killings, no political clout, no money for them etc. Hence what do they do?, they make them saints or martyrs, and call their acts of love towards patients with conversion/ dissociation as 'miracles'. So that they can benefit from the 'real' leaders. Well, I guess I'm deviating from the real topic, I shall correct my course. This movie stars a lot of actors and actresses. I guess they all did it as charity work because I'm sure the director would not have had enough money to pay them all, unless the movie was sponsored by Sree Narayana guru Trust. Some of them are, Thalaivasal Vijay, Mammootty, Navya Nair, Jagathy, Kalabhavan Mani (alas! a sensible role), Sai Kumar, Siddique, Babu Anthony, Devan etc. All these actors portray various famous personalities of history. There are also actors portraying Ravindranath Tagore, Chattambi swami, Mahatma Gandhi etc.
Some of guru's teachings or acts were really interesting and should be noticed by all. He wanted to abolish untouchability in the society and noticed that the untouchables were indeed dirty and smell horrible. He asks them to bathe and be clean as a first step to attain freedom. There are instances in which he did not provide 'miracle' food to the needy, instead he showed them entrepreneurship, that is, making a career out of coir sale, and thus take away the hunger. Another deed is that he noticed that how much ever he tried to abolish idol worship, people need a 'god' to pray to and so turned to some other idol, so he places a mirror in the centre and asks them to pray looking at it (You Are The God).
The end is pretty disappointing. He realizes that all the work he did, came to nothing when his Trust reverted back to caste system. It still remains today in Kerala. I'm happy that guru died before he saw what had happened and is happening. They made an idol of him and pray to it, they command political clout and it is now a business. Sad!
My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#87 Hounddog

There are certain movies which harve magnetic attraction to keep viewers glued till it is over. When it is over, the viewer have no idea why he watched it in the first place. It could be the pure rawness that the movie portrayed which could be easily related to. The storyline could be very simple at times but that relatedness factor keep viewers interested till the end. Maybe this is the factor that made soap serials successful. I'm not saying that this movie was a soap, but it has a charisma on its own. The southern america accent, the filthy life style of the plantation era, the eating habits, the religious ideologies etc make our fascination soar.
It stars Dakota Fanning, Piper Laurie and David Morse. I loved Dakota's Runaways, so when I found another work of her's, I took it. It is one of her earlier works than Runaways. The storyline is simple. She portrays a country girl, living a carefree life, with a irresponsible father, a strict grand mother and 'loves her but confused' aunt. She spends her days with her friend by running around the plantation area, swimming in the pond, mimicking Elvis, whom she is crazy about and catching fireflies. The fascination for Elvis and her desire to meet him, lands her in a horrifying situation. She feels violated and cheated. But with the help of a plantation african-american friend, she pulls her life back through music. She decide to start new with her aunt. The end is interesting. She already knew what danger is there even with a dead rattle snake, but she has to let go of the only thing that was preventing her from leaving that place. So, she commits an act of omission to break the bond. Watch it to feel the emotion.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#86 Aisha (Hindi)

A movie with no substance at all. I could easily satisfy myself by saying that it was worth watching, for the last 15 minutes or so. But, then again, it is worthless if rest of the movie time were just flimsy and superficial. It stars Sonam Kapoor (mainly) and Abhey Deol. One of the producers is Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor's father. It clears the dilemma why a producer should spend a fortune on a movie focussed on extravagance and 'substance less' storyline. I shall say with hush tones that mr Anil Kapoor might be seeking out a way to legalise his black money, earned from oscar winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. What better way than promote his daughter while legalising the money. Two birds with one stone!
Now for the gist–  the movie is about the life and maturing of a self centered extravagant, carefree, childish and selfish (Sonam's fans would say as innocent and sweet) girl. She is into matchmaking while disregarding social norms. She is eventually put in place by the people she thought she loved but played with. In that realisation, she understands that she had fallen in love and then as usual 'happy ending'. I have nothing personal towards the actress. It could be her good acting skill that potrayed her so badly and made me want to slap her. The director, I guess, has seen a lot of hollywood romantic movies, for he has made an ending identical to most such movies, but out of context with Indian setting. In the story, there is the 'destined to marry' relationship between Dhruv and Aarti (character names), which is very hard to digest for me. It is so laughable. I wonder whether the director had even researched about how love and lust works, and which one could end in marriage. I think he was called up from sleep by mr Anil Kapoor and straight away started to shoot the movie.
Watch it for the songs and love for fashion only. There is nothing worthy to remember this movie otherwise. As the latest financial crisis taught us, there has to be spenders to help savers save. I'm happy that there are girls like this in India. Indias' future is in safe hands. I pity those fathers and mothers though. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#85 Robin Hood

One of the good films I have seen lately. From the movie, it is very evident that the producers have spent enough money to make this closer to the real story. Starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchet, this one is a must see for Robin Hood/ Medieval/ War/ Russel Crowe fans.
The story shows the period prior to the life of Robin Hood as we know it (I may say that as I knew it because I never knew this story. Only knew from the time Robin Hood was established as the Prince of Thieves). In that period, Robin Longstride (RC) was an archer in King Richard's army. Due to circumstances, he had quit the army but got entangled in the plan to assassinate the king (I'm trying to be as vague as possible here–  may appear disconnected at times–  sorry) While carrying out a promise he made to a knight, he discovers his past, his lady love, his elusive past and about his late father, and his destiny. The story shows how he became Robin of the Hood, Prince of Thieves. All the famous names and characters of the known life as a thief, get introduced here.
The movie runs a cool 2 hours and 30 minutes plus in DVD. This include the credits also. But it is gripping enough not to make the viewer feel bored. I liked it because I'm a big fan of medieval movie, especially the life style. Russell Crowe may not find it as his best work because, in my opinion, the dialogues lacked the intensity as in Gladiator. The use of extras and stunts are superb in this one. The war scenes need special attention because of the lavish spending to make it feel grandiose. Cate Blanchet is lady Marion and dishes out a strong performance. So, in the end, the viewers will feel satisfied that they had watched worthwhile. My personal rating is 4 out of 5…

Movie#84 Parayan Marannathu (Malayalam- India)

Seldom certain movie give hope that Malayalam movies were indeed alive and kicking. This one stars none of the so called super stars but has Biju Menon, who I think, is taking the Val Kilmer line of Hollywood, that is, staying off from high cost–  high profile main stream movies.
The story is that of various interactions in a village. A single mother is struggling to bring up her only daughter, who is now in standard 12. A tailor and his family are their neighbours. This mother has a helper in the form an adopted son, a rowdy but with a nice heart and who is interested in her daughter. A village money lender harassing this mother and daughter because she had borrowed some money from him. A lot of villagers who are directly and indirectly connected to the daily life of this mother and daughter. The clue to the story direction is given early through a news in the paper about the suicide of a school girl. The villagers comment that adolescent girls need only small reasons to end their life. But this clue will not be picked up as it is introduced as a passing remark in the movie. Only on hindsight or after reading this review, will one think of it. Anyway, let me get back to story gist telling–  as mentioned above, the story is the interaction between the various characters. It brings forth the action–reaction of the spur of the moment decisions one take selfishly (in Indian context). It also makes the viewer understand that there could be hidden reasons to someone's actions even though it may appear silly on the outside. The movie has a nice story, intimacy, budding romance, family love, guilt and death.
Now for the negatives–  the director takes a long time to start the story. I know that if he dives straight into the story, the movie would be finished in less than one hour but he could have cut the time wastage by axing few songs. Those songs hadn't served any purpose than prolonging the movie. Character introduction, which takes bulk of the time at the start of movie, could have been trimmed. You would notice that there were few scenes which were the effect of bad editing. No reason at all to be shown. All in all, one of the better works in Malayalam movie making I have seen since this blog started. My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#83 Splice

The danger of playing with Gods' building blocks. I'm not preaching and I'm not a religious fanatic either. But I sense that there are certain things with which humans shouldn't play with, in the name of science. What is wrong with people dying of cancer, of having Alzheimer's disease or any genetic disease. Accept it as nature's way of weeding out and survival of the fittest. Science should know its limits.
Two rogue genetic scientists ( I shall say that the term psychologically challenged more apt) create a creature by splicing DNA of various animals and human. They justify their act as 'for science' initially and later when things start to go out of control, they start to play master and God. Anyone could have seen that what they did or were doing, was wrong, except themselves. That is why I suggest alternate description for their mental state. The creature's behaviour has an animal instinct which is insufficiently put under control by the its human instinct. The interaction between Adrien Brody (male culprit) and Sarah Polley (female culprit), in the initial part of their wrong doing, reminded me of Adam and Eve in the Bible. The little doubts AB develop of their actions were quickly quashed by SP. And he willingly let her control him.
The movie as a whole manages to hold just above average. The creature makeup and special effects are superb. But, while watching it, makes us feel that something was missing somewhere. It could be the absence of powerful music in concordance with the awe the creature morphology conveys. Some of the scenes could have been avoided in my opinion. It develops a certain kind of repulsion to the frailty of humans, when hormones control the urge to mate. Because of that this movie is definitely not a family watch especially in unrated DVD, as my copy. Towards the end, the director seemed like he wanted to end the movie quickly. The offspring of the creature grows quickly than its mother and grasps speech without training. Hmmmm…interesting! And the end, the motivation for money seem to conquer reasoning. Hope this experiment never happens in real life. I really hope….
My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#82 Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue

Yes, it is an animation movie. And I don't find any reason why I shouldn't enjoy an animation. I went to the store and didn't have any choices. All the others were rented out and this was only left. I think I have exhausted the store options. Thinking about moving to the next one.
There is nothing much to write about this one. Straight story and superb animation. I should also say that the animation work had been done extensively in India. I couldn't guess that until I saw all Indian names in the credits. very professional work indeed.
Suggesting this to all who dare to take a break from respective 'adult' lives and wish to revisit their childhood. It will make you very very happy
My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#81 The Legend is Born- Ip Man (Mandarin)

After the disappointing previous movie, I decided to watch some martial arts action. Even though this was in chinese, I was assured that subtitles were adequate for understanding. I shall skip naming the actors here because I have no clue who they are.
I have had watched another movie about Ip Man and liked the style of martial arts. This one didn't disappoint either. I don't need to write any gist about the movie because the summary is well summarized in the title itself. It is the story of initial days of a famous chinese fighter named Ip Man. The movie as a whole was really enjoyable leaving out the constant distraction of trying to read the subtitles to understand the story, instead of viewing the picture. The characters were pleasant and the fights were thrilling to watch. The story was never boring as every shot will have something as martial art practice, fights or romance. Moreover, if an english dubbed version were available, it would have been an excellent family movie too.
To further the discussion in a controversial way, I shall say that China has moved away from the dream of Ip Man. The story is centered around the time China was defeated by Japan, and had to live under the atrocities of Japan. Ip Man dreamed about liberating China and be tolerant to others. How China has deviated from that at present! If Ip Man was alive today, he would have been disappointed, I should say.
My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#80 Black Death

What a drag! This movie is clearly over hyped. I took this one from the store after reading a review from a gossip magazine. Now I understand that certain review writers could be paid employees of production houses and 'above fair' reviews could be marketing strategy. It stars Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne.
The gist of the movie is about the time of plague in Europe. People are dying and the church conveniently blames it as the wrath of God. Guess, marketing strategies were designed very long back. The church also learns that a certain village was not affected by plague because they followed ungodly ways including black magic. It forms a group of warriors (mercenaries in my opinion) to capture the leader of black magic and investigate why that village was spared. With the help of a monk, they set out to that village. Well, that is the teaser for you. Don't you feel curious to know the end? I had, and that was what made me rent it.
The whole movie is 'colourless'. The setting has a grey tinge till the end. The story is very straight forward. Out of the many actors in it, I don't find and worthy to mention about. The monk stayed true to his character though, an idiot. No enjoyable music, no pretty sceneries, no special effects, no worthy fight scenes etc. I'm sure that the director would have dozed off one or few times while directing this because of the dull story. Now for the positives–  I'm a fan of medieval movies. I had mentioned this before at some other blog. The costumes, I think, were excellent. The shabbiness and the ruggedness of characters were also brought forward nicely.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#79 Dabangg (Hindi)

Do you prefer to unwind your weekend by watching a movie which tickles your emotions in a soft way or by watching something which is hard on emotions? If your answer is the former, this is a must see. It stars Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Om Puri and Anupam Kher
Now for the superlatives–  this movie is pure fun. It is altogether in a different genre. I shall put it as a nonsense–sense category. What I mean to say is that you would notice sense within nonsense, taken with immaculate care not to go overboard. In other words, Pure Illogical Fun, period! From start to finish we feel assured that hero would last till the end and it would be a happy ending. He would get whatever he wanted, in whichever way, whenever he preferred. Am I sounding nonsensically sensical?..lol.
Now comments about the finer parts. I shall not venture into the indigestible scenes because of the disclaimer I wrote above. The heroine turned out to be a dud. She has the looks, the eyes, the smile, the curves and the tears. Sadly, acting part is missing. The stunt scenes reminded me of a particular Jackie Chan–  Owen Wilson movie and Jason Statham movie. I don't wish to elaborate more, you will find the resemblance. The stunt scenes are taken in a fascinating way. The guys' dying, instead of creating the usual anger-awe-fear emotions, creates a comical feeling and cause laughter. Watch and feel for yourself. The songs are a colour riot. The latest news is that the song featuring Malaika Arora (cameo–  item number) had become a sensation in India and Pakistan. The dance step holding the belt buckle was a novelty for me.
My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#78 Cheriya Kallanum Valiya Poleesum (Malayalam- India)

I guess this had been a 2008 or 2007 release. I missed it then and when I saw it this time in the store, I took it. It starts Mukesh, Jagadeesh, Suraaj Venjaranmoodu, Jagathy, Salim Kumar (waste bin) and a whole lot of comedians.
The director, I guess, meant this work as a comical look into the social issues of the Kerala society. The story starts as Mr Jagadeesh writing a letter to his wife. He had come to find a job and failed. In the letter, it is written about his intention to commit suicide soon after. The letter reaches his wife at his home village. As with any village in India, everyone knows everyone. So the news spread about Jagadeesh's suicide. Different people have different outlook and feelings towards the tragedy. For example, the village tea shop owner (Salim Kumar) is more concerned about the number of visitors to mourn and their food plans which directly profits his business; the village political members (Jagathy and co) are concerned about improving their political mileage by faking the sadness, a village elderly is more concerned about the future of Jagadeesh's pretty wife and the gossips of her imagined lover, their long lost relatives start appearing to fight for scraps of family's property etc. The incident becomes the talk of town and the house becomes a place of social gatherings. It is to such a situation Mr Mukesh appears from nowhere and takes it his responsibility to help the family till the body arrives. No one knows who he is or what his intentions are. Comical acts are spiced more by the local SI of police, Mr Suraj Venjaranmoodu.
I should say that the acting and comics were indeed refreshing till 3/4 of the movie. From then onwards, it starts to drag and the last 20 mins it turn serious. This mixture of emotional play killed the movie. Why can't they make a comical movie as comical? Why do they think that every movie needs all kind of emotions in it? My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#77 Thanthonni ( Malayalam- India)

A movie which brings forth all male fantasies. And meaningful start of the story is from the 50th minute onwards. Till then it is all character introduction with rowdy dialogues and chauvinistic acts. It shows the deficiency of a professional movie editor in malayalam film industry. The story of film runs a cool 2 hours 20 minutes plus, but could easily be trimmed to 1 hour 20 minutes or below if had been edited properly. How can one justify wastage of time, money and efficiency with 50 meaningless minutes at the start of the movie?
Why did I say male fantasy? Well imagine this life–  You are a member of a very rich family which run successful multiple businesses and the net worth of the family is a cool 1300 crore plus (in this movie, time is wasted in showing certain buildings to reaffirm this fact). The members of the family are a minister, IAS officer, IPS officer, rich uncles, successful criminal lawyer, a very loving and tolerant mother, and a beautiful and sexy fiancé who just finished PhD and loves only you. Imagine a front lawn of a house littered with all the luxury cars. A friend who is a comedian and sincere to the core. And you, a happy go lucky person, drinking the days away and win all the fights you get into (I wonder which alcoholic drink would improve your physical health the more you use it) And moreover the fiancé supports your drinking habit. Now thats not all, even though you seem like wasting your life away, there is a hidden emotional and monetary truth which no one knows. This monetary truth is worth much more than the entire worth I just mentioned above. Now how about that!
The real story of the film, which is really only one hour worth, is satisfactory-good level. The acting is good in patches. I don't think that anyone would find it difficult to blurt out emotional dialogues with glycerine. Personally, I liked the part in which Mr Jagathy, a comedian, gets introduced and finishes off his part in the movie later. The songs sequence are a eye candy. The fights are total joke. I could not digest the rope tricks. Imagine a sequence in which the hero stands 20 or so meters away from three villains, and then floats through the air and and hit the three with multiple kicks, really laughable. Definitely malayalam movie industry is turning away from truth and down to earth movies for which it was famous for. Now action sequences are copied shamelessly from tamil, hollywood and chinese movies without considering the built of the artists and nature of context.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#76 Iron Man 2

Very few sequels perform at par or above par with first part. When I think of some, the few that comes to mind are Terminator series ( 4 parts and the last one fizzled but the second was better than first), Lord of Rings Triology, Harry Porter (?maybe) etc etc. I shall put this one among the list as I found it more satisfying than the first. Maybe the end, the very end I mean, came abruptly but can be overlooked.
It stars all Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L Jackson and Jon Favreau (incidently he is the director too). The story picks off from the first part. Tony Clark (RDJr) is living his eccentric life as Iron man and he company affairs are well looked after by assistant Pepper (GP). His ego is hurt when a mysterious man with almost the same technology appears and matches him in a fight. They have a common past and he is out to take revenge. The world loses faith in Iron man. Also the palladium cores powering his body is poisoning him and he is unable to find a substitute. All the while, he is facing stress from US government as they want to own his iron man suit. A few super heroes appear in this part with whom I'm not familiar with. I was not a comic book fanatic in my childhood. So the movie proceeds with multiple missions to accomplish for Iron man.
1. He has to fulfill his father's dream
2. Find suitable substitute for palladium
3. Protect his suit from government
4. Protect his reputation and defeat the mysterious man
Watch out for the superb special effects at the Monaco Grand prix and towards the end. It is a 'wow' riot. My perosnal rating is 4 out of 5…

Movie#75 In Ghost House Inn ( Malayalam- India)

Few movies in India run multiple sequels and this is one. Even though actress changed from the ever comical, unsurpassable first part, In Harihar Nagar, the actors, Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadeesh and Ashokan, remained till this third edition. All of them remain young at heart even though it shows the opposite in their movements, body shape and faces. After a disappointing second part, this edition redeemed the franchise and makes us, malayalees, crave for another one.
The gist of the story is that Ashokan ( real name, not character name), with the money from second part, buys a big bunglow at a hill station with plans of converting it to a resort (as always with all malayalees–  the usual business of fleecing foreigners. Not the idea or concept in this movie though). But this bunglow has a sinister history. It was here, 70 years ago, the real owner, Mrs Dorothy (screen name) after murdering her husband and his mistress, dumped their bodies together with that of her chauffer who found out about the murder into a well. As story goes, their souls haunt the mansion. All the subsequent realtors who bought the bunglow from Mrs Dorothy, had to sell it back to her, because of the hauntings, and consolidate their loss. So the present owner, Ashokan, who considers this as his last chance to be successful in life, invites his three friends over to prove to the villagers that it was all indeed superstition. They also decide to bring their wives to doubly prove that the spirits neither affect males nor females. Sinister incidents start to happen and they decide to get help from Mr Nedumudi Venu (real name) for exorcism. Will they succeed? Was it all superstition or did ghosts really exist? Watch it and enjoy.
After a many attempts, Jagadeesh started getting his comical acts to be funny again. It has been a long time since malayalam comical acts gave me a good laugh and this has been satisfying. The absence of malayalam waste bin, Mr Salim Kumar, was a big relief. There is one part where the movie almost killed itself. As a regular viewer, I felt it but I don't think majority would. If I reveal it here, it would kill the movie. I shall try to be as vague as possible. Why would one call up and boast about how he has fooled a victim, after such elaborate and labourious attempt? Don't he have to do it again with future victims and won't the current victims warn authorities? I think director Lal got confused at the end and almost blew it. It missed to pull the movie down because the movie is a treat to watch till then.
My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5. I would have given it a higher rating if only they made the end digestible. But I suggest to viewers that they should not miss this movie after a disappointing second part. Go enjoy…

Movie#74 9th Company (Russian)

Don't ask me who all acts in this movie because I have no clue. I took it from the store because it came recommended by the clerk. He said that it was a excellent war movie and with less dialogues and clear subtitles, it was easy to understand. Since there was nothing to borrow last night, I took a chance and brought it to view. So, after watching it, I shall recommend this as a must watch to war movie lovers.
The story is that of a Russian army unit called 9^th company in Afghanistan. The initial part of the movie is how the guys bond from the time of recruitment to their arrival at Khost province in Afghanistan. As with every war movie, the bonding part of the movie has got profanity in the dialogues, ill tempered fights and sex. They get trained under a veteran fighter with psychological problem, but get trained nevertheless. They arrive in Khost and confront reality. Their order is to guard a vantage hill and ward off Afghan fighters (ghosts) from disrupting supply route and troop movements. At the end of the movie, just before the credits, it was written that it was based on true events.
The movie appears very realistic with the scenic shots, emotions, stunts and equipments. I remember as there were more than 8 guys involved and since I didn't know who was the exact hero in the movie, it became more interesting as unexpected guys get killed in battle. From start to end the movie retains the thrill to keep the viewer interested in it. To sum at the end, watch it to get an idea about Russian version of Afghan war other than from western propaganda from bias CNN and BBC. My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#73 Pramani ( Malayalam- India)

Another malayalam movie to show that malayalam movie making is on the downward trend. This one clearly lacks creativity instead tries to copy stunts from neighbouring tamil movies.
Starring malayalam stalwart Mammootty, Siddique, Sneha, Prabhu, Janardhanan etc etc, this movie is all about stereotypical roles. Mammootty, as hero can turn from bad guy to good guy in a flash. He cannot be cheated upon and can beat down men of the size of bull dozers (How come Indian commando head quarters never recruited him?). It is not just beat down but those bull dozers will actually be thrown around like tennis balls. Really laughable!. Siddique, as usual will remain loyal to his character, a bad guy. No amount of goodness can change him. Janardhanan looks like a lion with the makeup. Guess his make up man was a zoo worker before. Prabhu has to be always a good guy otherwise tamil fans will boycott the movie. Then the usual filler, the real waste bin actor of malayalam industry–  Salim Kumar. To my comfort, the director literally forgot about his existence in the movie and he mysteriously disappears after the first  half. The actors who acted to potential are the ones with minor role such as Baiju and; Mammootty character's uncle and aunt. The other comedian, Suraj Venjaranmoodu, is losing his mind slowly. He started his career with a bang and now stuck with stale comical acts and mannerisms.
The story is that of a panchayat president who was neck deep in corruption. He is into acquiring land from others by hook or crook, hence the name Pramani. The director tries to poke fun at capitalistic america through his nick name in the village. After a crucial incident, the president decides to turn good while his cronies choose not to (as usual). Suddenly the new avatar president preaches goodness and expects others to follow. He decides to fight against illegal land acquisition he himself authorized before. And as usual wins at the end. I'm sorry to let out the 'thrilling end'. You could have never guess how the movie was flowing otherwise–  really sorry.
This one is a total waste of time and money. Keep away. Only Mammootty fans may pay no heed to my advise. My personal rating is 1.5 out of 5…

Movie#72 Heartless

This movie is not for everyone. The real movie lovers would not mind sitting through till the end and finding out the obvious things unfurling in the movie but the rest would find it boring as it lacks good action, vibrancy and happiness, intimate scenes (at the least) or seemingly gripping storyline.
The storyline is simple superficially. It shows the life of a guy with a heart shaped tattoo around his left eye and a lonely life. The only close member in his life is his mother. Because he has a tattoo, he finds it difficult to socialize or to find a girl friend, and develops a different outlook towards the dull and difficult world around him. He tries to find answers to the questions based on the advice given by his late father. His father had told him that he was a special kid and needed to look at the world differently and the world would be difficult for him, but he would be able to see things around him differently from others. So he lives on. Things change when he notices creatures and demons around him and the tattoo mysteriously disappears. He befriends a mysterious little girl and her much much elder, with disfigured hand companion and strikes a deal with him much to his regret later. Things start to happen fast around him and he starts to lose the people he brings in to his life. Finally when he figures out what was happening, it was too late and too much for him to accept who had been responsible.
For people who are interested in psychological thrillers, this is a good watch. Others who know the actors and admire any of them, will also find this a worthy watch. But for the ones who demand fast pace action and happy movie, keep away and save your money. Personally I liked it. I shall give this one a 3 out of 5…

Movie#71 Avan (Malayalam- India)

This movie stars a lot of actors, some of them are Bala, Vijay Yesudas, Riyas Khan, Vijayaraghavan, Jagadish, Riza Bava and Muktha.
The storyline is a fairly okay. It shows how innocence get into the world of crime and the inevitable end. The gist of the story is that 2 friends get separated in their childhood due to forced circumstances. The hero gets lured into the world of crime. On one of his missions, he come to face the past. But crime has to pay and he ends up in jail. Due to his good behaviour in the jail, he gets invitation to a realty show called Crime and  Music. He opens out his heart and tells all. But will the people waiting for revenge leave him be?
I don't know where to start the comment section. As I had mentioned earlier, the story line is satisfactory. The acting needs a lot of tweaking. It is not that the director could do anything now but he has a lot to improve if he has planned another venture. Barring the main actors, all others seem to be blurting out memorized lines. It seems as though the director has instructed only the main actor on what should be done on each shot, the rest of them seem confused and at times hilariously seen looking at the main actor to do his bit and wait for cues. Very poor improvisation and originality. Also I think the director got confused whether this was a musical or crime thriller. Too many songs at wrong time. It dragged the movie. He could have shortened it to one and half hour movie with proper editing.
As usual, the heroine had no role at all. The producer could have saved money there. It was purely wasted talent and time for Muktha. I hope she was paid well for such a story line. The child artists need to be selected carefully. Compared to hollywood child artists who are very comfortable and professional in front of camera, the ones in this movie fails all front. They totally lack the emotion and intonation in dialogues. But I put the blame squarely on the director. He should have over–seen that. And lastly, the film used lacked the colour vibrancy. The locale may have been apt but very very dull because of the low quality film used.
Finally I shall give it a 2.5 out of 5 because the movie gained intensity towards the last 30 minutes.

Movie#70 Cop Out

Have you heard the phrase 'it would grow on you with time'? Well, according to me, this movie is the perfect example. Starring an unusual combination of Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, it is categorized under the genre of action-comedy-crime in imdb.com
The story gist is that BW and TM are police officers and partners. After screwing up a cover operation both of them get suspended. BW need money quickly to pay for his daughter's wedding or else he would feel slighted in front of his ex's second husband. So, BW decides to sell of his rare baseball card for money but it gets stolen and ends up with a dangerous gang. Now he needs to retrieve the card and to do so he gives in to the demand of the gang boss that he would find his stolen mercedes. But the mercedes hides something that he had not bargained for…
I felt so bored with both BW's and TM's acting at the starting of the movie. BW was trying hard to be 'cool' while TM was trying very very hard to be funny. The problem is that director tried to convey the comics through TM's dialogues and it really gets irritating. Then enter Mr Sean William Scott towards the end of the 1^st  half. It is from this point on the movie redeems itself. TM's vocals tone down and comics get funny through facial expressions and actions, more with the help of SWS. Cool scenes happen in which the director wrecks a mercedes and a dodge in a car chase bit. BW's 'coolness' improves towards the end and that's how all in all the movie grows on you. But it is not a must watch though.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#69 The Last Airbender

I'm back after a short hiatus. I was away due to personal reasons for anyone who cares to know. This new release was waiting for me when I stepped into the store.
The defining statement for this work for the people who haven't yet seen it. Watch it only for the shooting sets, locales and special effects. If you are looking for anything more, you will be thoroughly disappointed. The storyline is new, the dialogues are flimsy and superficial, the acting is below par in all the actors, the music is forgettable and there is virtually nothing to put you in a gripping mood as the director would have meant it.
Mr Night Shyamalan has wasted the massive budget he was allocated for the movie. Maybe we are expecting too much from him and compare all this work to his first two super releases. I have seen that all his latest works were below average. He is the Ram Gopal Verma of Hollywood. But one should admire his never say die attitude, if allocated such a huge budget. Now I don't want the actors to take it personally when I say that Noah Ringer as Aang didn't have the punch, Dev Patel as Prince Zuko made me laugh when he gave the cruel glare, Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone suck, but Nicola fared better comparing the two. Aasif Mandvi as Commander Zhao wasn't the correct person for the role. Primary reason is his character name–  chinese name for a South Asian guy!, Cliff Curtis as Fire Lord Ozai fared ok because he didn't have much role in the movie. The only person aptly cast and did his part well is Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh.
Now when I come to give my personal rating, I average the score between factor mentioned intially as what to look for in this one. So I give it a 2.5 out of 5. It gives me second thoughts whether I have given it too many.

Movie#68 Irandu Mugam (Tamil- India)

Is there anyone with 121 minutes of their productive life for free giveaway? And then you may regret by hitting your head against the wall like me. If there is anyone, this movie is apt for such an experiment. There is no superlatives to term how wasted this movie is. I feel sorry for Sathyaraj and other few known actors in this who may have fallen for the cash offered. I'm sure they lost some of the gained popularity in their life work because of this.
The story line is tried and tested. There is no novelty. We can easily guess where the movie is turning even 30 minutes before it happens. The initial half is total joke. As anyone would say, time pass. Maybe the director will argue as 'build up' but I would say that he lost it completely. A political career aspiring man and his two side kicks waste time with really really STUPID jokes which are conveyed verbally as if blurting out memorized lines than acting per se. Even when I type this, I clench my teeth in disgust. Due to a sudden political change, he gets elected as minister. Had it been so simple to get elected as minister, then I'm planning a political career too..lol. A dedicated and sincere IAS officer is introduced fighting crime in the public distribution system of ration commodities. Even in this, the dialogues are boringly elaborate to make the viewer understand how the scam is taking place. He is now posted under the amateur politician, the movie hero. This fellow is slowly getting to know how to amass wealth from bribes and that ticks off the IAS officer. The officer plans out a way to make a man out of minister. The plan is so silly and laughable.
I don't have much to comment further as my first line would summarize how this movie is. My personal rating is 0.5 out of 5…

Movie#67 The Ghost Writer

This work is thought provoking. Although it is claimed as fiction, it can also put seeds of doubt into lot of people and also provide a clarification to the nick name, 'poodle' of an ex– leader in an european country. It is not impossible for such an act of infiltration, but in a world where children are told not to lie, in schools, while perceive lies all around them, much to their distress; such an incident, if happened or happening, is acceptable.
Renting this movie, I had my doubts. I was under the impression that it was a dour political drama. I thought I could take my time to watch it and shall do it in 2–3 sittings. The movie is fairly long, almost 2 hours and 15 mins with credit. It stars superb actors such as Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor and Olivia Williams. The story gist is that a writer is hired by ex–  prime minister of England to be the ghost writer for his memoirs. The previous ghost writer had died under mysterious circumstances and patchy investigation had concluded that it was death due to drowning under the influence of alcohol. Anything more in the gist about the story line would be a give away of the superb build up and thrill involved. But I think that the end could have been done better, but it served enough for the gruesomeness of the tale. Once it started, I found it impossible to stop and watched it in one sitting. The intrigue and the twists are excellent. The plot is thick and manages to hold the thrilling mystery until the very end. The dialogues and crisp, and there is humour peppered within them. The acting and directing (Roman Polanski) are par excellence. The shooting locale serves up for the mystery and thrill.
While watching this, it also made me think about a recent newspaper report in my home country. The report was that of heir to prime ministership of my country had a girl friend while pursuing studies abroad. But all of a sudden that relationship came to an end. The report splashed her photo and it surprised me that while there were reports of 'fame and money' seeking women disclose of their relationship with famous men for all kinds of benefits, how come this woman had kept mum even after such a news tickle? And it was also reported that the break up was allegedly due to the instruction from his famous mother. Then how strong a man is he? There were also suggestions that he sacrificed his love to be the future leader of his country without distractions. The man in questions is currently hovering 40, I think. Does such a sacrifice really needed to be a leader? Is there a hidden story or twist like in this movie? Questions and questions, I know. Thats what this movie did to me. I rate this movie as a MUST WATCH with a 5 out of 5 rating…

Movie#66 The Runaways

A good work by Kristen Stewart (Joan Jett), Dakota Fanning (Cherie Currie) and Michael Shannon (Kim Fowley). Supposedly a true story of rock artists and how a 'conceptual' all girls rock band formed and failed.
For lovers of rock music and all those who do not care about the profanity in every screen shot, it is a good watch. It also shows another story if one can look deeply. It shows the story of two girls (mainly) who are in love with music especially rock. With the help of a eccentric manager they form a all girls rock group. This, at a time when girls rarely sing rock or mainly never. Through all trials and tribulations, they succeed to get signed by a record label. Life changes drastically for them. Thrown into public life at a young age of 16, fame gets into the head of them. Priorities change from 'our group' to 'my life'. Maybe there is a reason for that change but they failed to communicate properly to each other why one needed that. Drugs are introduced into their life and destroy one of them almost completely. While the other one struggle because of this but pulls through and becomes famous. The fallen one get up but chooses another way of life to help herself.
Not a family watch because of heavy profanity, drug usage and intimate scenes. My perosnal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#65 30 Days of Night- Dark days

Another one with a big AVOID suggestion from me. Took this with so much hope as the first part was very good because of the novelty. This one though was quite disappointing. The main actors are Kiele Sanchez and Rhys Coiro.
The story picks up from where it finishes in part one. But you wouldn't miss a thing even if you start fresh from this point. The theme of this story is avenging the death of lover. Kiele loses her love in the first part and is living life with constant fear of another attempt on her life. She gets constant updates from a guy called Dane about the whereabouts of vampires in the city. No one believes her story of what had happened at Alaska. From a group of vampire killers she find out that there was a vampire queen who co-ordinates their actions, and killing her would destroy their survival. So she sets out in that quest with the guidance of Dane.
The funny areas are that she joined the group as a rookie while others were veterans. But it does not show at all because she assumes command from the first mission. There is a total role reversal–  veterans turn to rookies while rookie turn veteran. Total joke, I should say. The movie has no fights, not special effects except for the vampires wearing fake teeth and contacts. Atleast the makers could have redeemed with some thumping music but that was also missing. The actors seem like blurting out memorized lines and the dialogues fail to bring out the fearful situation they face, especially the other woman in the group. And at the end it clearly shows by the heroine's act that she was indeed psychotic. The director might have wanted to bring out her love towards her lost guy, but what the hell!
All in all, it does not even come close to its first part. Poor show. My personal rating is 1.5 out of 5…

Movie#64 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish)

A Must Watch!
Saw this one with english subtitles. I happened to read about this movie in a gossip magazine and how hollywood is planning to make similar and release, maybe next year. So I decided to watch the original, before story gets diluted further.
Don't know the actors in this one and it's no use mentioning their names by pasting from imdb. Unlike the french movie which I saw few days ago, this one is class apart. A real thriller. The story is that of a news paper reporter, who would be undergoing a jail term in the near future because he was setup by a business man he was investigating for fraudulent activities, and a mysterious girl with tattoos and piercings investigate the disappearance of a rich man's grand daughter. They were called in because the rich man believes that his grand daughter was still alive as he received regular birthday presents from her. Moreover the police investigation led to nowhere and the reason remains unclear even after 40 years. So it is a start from scratch investigation for the two involved. During the course of investigation they discover hidden and disturbing truths about the rich man's family.
The movies achieves what it was set out for. It is engrossing and thrilling. The back ground music and the settings help the cause too. The acting should be appreciated by the intensity. Even though it could not communicate by voice because of language barrier; the facial expression made up for the thrill. This is what acting is all about. The movie is 2 hours plus but time flies without difficulty. The end is also apt for the characters involved
My personal rating is 4 out of 5…

Movie#63 Crazies

At best it can be called as 'cousin' of Resident Evil or 28 Days/Weeks Later. The storyline poses a lot of questions at the end. Agreed that fiction work should be seen without an analytical eye but a question would be a question anyways. It stars Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell.
The gist of the story is that in a town, the people turns into apathetic killers with prominent veins on their face. It happens so quickly that the police officer suspects the water supply. He is in a race against time to save his pregnant doctor wife with the help of his trusted deputy. The happenings resemble a mix of the previously mentioned movies. While on the run they discover what had caused the behavioural change and what extreme step on containment was being taken by the authorities.
The few questions that pop up are
1. All network and communication links are cut off except electricity. Huh?
2. Ok maybe this would be like a spoiler but I still need to ask. The inhabitants turn into apathetic killers but how come they recognize their relatives or friends and remain loyal to them only?
3. How do they survive a containment measure like that within the danger zone and in a truck?
4. According to information they gather, the 'affection' is like Lycra advertisement–  Either You Have It Or You Don't. Funny that only the people in the camera shooting frame comprises of the 'You Don't' category.
My personal rating will be 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#62 Ultimate Heist (French)

Saw this one on sunday but took a while to write something about it. I know that I have written it as french but the movie was dubbed into english. It stars french actors and the only one I knew was Jean Reno. Maybe the rest were all top actors in France.
The story is that of relationship trouble between father and son. They belong to well known mafia family and father wants the son to follow his career, that is to steal and kill. Son rebels because he is in love with a girl. Father plans a final heist and son tells him that it would be last, The Ultimate Heist. To complicate the picture is a french police officer who knows about their plan and he is luring the lady love of the son to spell out the fine prints of plan.
Thought this would be a action movie but bullets were a short supply or commanded a premium, because there was hardly any action. The video shots were all zoomed in making me guess that the locales were bad too. All in all everything was BAD. Even the planning and the execution of the heist was like child's play as it didn't need a plan in the first place. Even I could have planned it like that!!!!
AVOID this at all cost. Maybe it was really meant for the french and I was a fool to rent it. My personal rating is 1 out of 5…

Movie#61 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

I was feeling really playful the other day and thought I should spent time in a less serious mood. So, even though I had options at the store, I decided to go with this one because it was meant for kids. It has Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, Emma Thompson and cameo by Ewan McGregor.
Have you all forgotten the classic, Mary Poppins? This movie is in line with that genre but it is not a musical or contains no songs. It has a mother,  her three kids, their two cousins, their 'innocently' crooked uncle, a lovely old lady, a friendly policeman, a clumsy world war german pilot, a returning father, a grumpy father, an obedient royal guard, a warm chauffer, two 'less serious and only talk' loan sharks and finally a loveable nanny. Well I hope i have covered all the main actors involved. Moreover it has animal characters too such as, five or six piglets who can do things beyond our imagination and their capability, a crow who has affinity to window putty and burps loudly, a cute baby elephant, and cameo appearance from a cow and a goat. In addition to all these lovely characters, there are special effects which are fun to watch especially for kids. As for adults, it is a nice watch but just for one view only.
The gist of the story is very simple and it is about a magical nanny who comes into a family of four ( a mother and her three kids) plus two ( their city cousins). The nanny through her magic teach the kids five valuable lessons. Go for it and give this one a try. It will make your night a good night. My personal rating is 3 out of 5…

Movie#60 Kick Ass

I must say this at the onset–  A Good Watch for a Perfect Weekend. I must go a little more further and comment as 'must watch' instead. This movie is very refreshing with the right amount of comedy, action, tragedy, special effects, romance, music etc etc.
It stars Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Lyndsy Fonseca and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Barring Nicolas Cage, all others are strangers to me but I really felt connected to each one of them. The gist of the movie is as follows–  a boy with no special things to speak of and his two friends–  he craves for some action in life and certainly romance with pretty girl in class–  all three are into comic book heroes–  boy decides to dress up as super hero–  helps a guy from street thugs–  instant fame through online video sharing, youtube, courtesy apathetic onlookers–  meets father_daughter super hero pair fighting local gangster–  tragedy strikes–  new found friend and himself takes down the gangster. I must say that Chloe, who is Hit Girl, does put in a worthy work. She is both cute and talented. Aaron Johnson, as Kick Ass, can be related to by most among us. Christopher does his part too as Red Mist, especially the jiggy inside the car with Aaron Johnson. Nicolas Cage does not need special introduction. He rocked as Big Daddy.
I wish I could say that this is a family movie. It is , if you can get a rated DVD or CD. The one which I watched was an unrated one and I had to strip tease scenes. No nakedness but too close for comfort for children under 13.
My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#59 Dolan's Cadillac

I like the acting of Christian Slater. In this one, I guess, he had either decided to do some charity work to help upcoming actors and movie makers or he took a pay cut because he needed some quick cash. How else can I hide my disappointment on this movie starring one of my favourite actors.
The story is simple. It almost resembles the usual Hindi movies. Villain does some bad act- hero's girl friend witnesses it and agrees to stand up to villain and testify, caring less to the intimidations she receives–  hero is worried but admires girl's courage and decide to stand with her–  girl is pregnant and hero is happy and wish for happy days ahead–  villains wins at eliminating the threat to his survival–  hero is heartbroken–  revenge. The only twist or difference in the tale is that the police played for the side of good guys!!!!
Ok now, what all in the movie that didn't feel digestible
1. The girl is question does something very very stupid on an impulse, I hope. I can't digest the fact that someone who could be hunted by ruthless criminal and specifically told by the police to lie low, could do that.
2. Villains body guard tried his best to look cold blooded but he just did not fit the role.
3. The hero is a total joker. Even at the end, when he was doing what he was meant to do, the dialogues does not bring forth the pain within him and the gruesomeness of the act.
4. The final acts of the hero does not correlate with his physical capacity.
Even though, there are only four points, since the movie theme is simple, these four points appear to kill the entire movie. I can't blame the director, the actors especially Christian Slater, the setting or the story but I can squarely put all blame on the casting director for choosing the wrong persons for crucial roles.
My personal rating is 2 out of 5…

Movie#58 Cherrybomb

What do you when you have government money to splurge on your creative idea, a actor who has shot into fame through a hit movies series, a pretty girl with curves, a neighbourhood full of wasting away anti–  socials and has had experimented with drugs in your younger days? YOU MAKE THE MOVIE CHERRYBOMB!!!!!
It stars Rupert Grint and Kimberley Nixon, and a host of other actors not worthy of mentioning. I clearly don't understand what made the director make such a movie. There is no story period!
Two good friends, one is a clear junkie and the other at the crossroads to decide whether he should follow the 'good' career way or waste life away with friend, meet a girl. The movie is all a flash back of what transpired the previous three days, that led to their current state. I think a movie maker should have some idea to communicate to the viewers but if this one has anything like that, the God save northern Ireland, as it would drive every youngster to drugs, especially acid.
Let me be very frank. The only worthy point to watch is a love making scene between the girl and one of the guys. If that too was missing, I wasted my rental money….lol. When I saw the catchy cation claiming that with this performance Rupert Grint had filled the replacement role of Ewan Mcgregor, I thought it would be a worthy watch. But turned out to be a style statement with drugs, like the haute couture in fashion industry–  all pomp and no substance…
My personal rating is 1 out of 5. I wanted to give .5 but the extra .5 is specially for the curvy Kimberley Nixon.

Movie#57 Brooklyn's Finest

Have you wanted to be a cop, especially an undercover agent? Don't you want to be good father and husband, that you would do anything to provide the best for you family? Do you want your last days before retirement a peaceful period without anymore responsibilities and risks? How far can you stretch yourself to achieve what you dream of? That is what this movie shows, I think.
It stars a whole lot of top actors, naming some of the are Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes etc etc. It is a crime-action–  thriller set in Brooklyn. The story line is similar to CRASH where each cop's life goes on with respective difficulties but all come crashing into each other at the end. RG's character is that of a cop who had a week more before retirement. He wanted it to pass without incident and lead a quiet life with his love interest, a local prostitute. He gets sucked into a chase in search of a missing woman in that week. EH wanted the best for his family of three, ie, his wife who is now expecting twins but is suffering asthma aggravation because of the fungus on the walls of their dilapidated house. He is trying to get money in any way possible to get them a better place. He knowingly goes after drug money which as a strike team member in the force, gets him access to illicit money stashes and more. DC is an undercover trying cop to earn grade detective even at the cost of losing his love. He gets too involved with the gang head, WS, so much that he put his primary duty at risk. How their lives cross at the end is the story…
If you are familiar with the term potential energy and kinetic energy, then this movie's first part is all potential energy. You get few idea about what going on because the it keep shifting between the lives of each cop. By the starting of the second half, the kinetic energy is unleashed. Everything winds down to a CRASH. The movie has got a lot to keep out attention going on for more than 2 hours. It has action, nudity, sex, club scene, killings and thrills. So definitely not a family watch if you include the constant use of mother f***** term.
My personal rating is 3.5 out of 5…

Movie#56 Greenberg

Starring Greta Gerwig and Ben Stiller, this movie will not be in everyone's taste. As there are no frill airlines, this is a no frill movie. Don't expect anything other than a 'just' flowing drama. So, if you are planning a wind down with this one on your weekend, you would hope for monday quickly.
The story is that Ben, in his just out of mental hospital character, is spending 6 weeks at his brother's villa in New York. His brother and family are on a vacation to Vietnam. At this place BS meets GG, who is the house keeper. She is in search of love and to settle down and is attracted to BS. Meanwhile BS is very unsure in life and has his outbursts which he justifies by blaming others. How they sort it out is the movie.
I don't know whom to praise, whether it is the acting of BS or characterization in the story, but I hate the character which BS plays, Roger Greenberg. He has not yet fully recovered from his nervous breakdown and has so much negativism. The way in which he shifts the blame to the other person was ticking me off all through.
My personal rating will be 1.5 out of 5…

Movie#55 Repo Men

Warning! Warning! To all bankers who may not have yet seen this one, the disclaimer of the work–  'resemblance maybe purely coincidental', may appear too close for comfort. The director is fictionally looking into the future of human life about how lenders would be when they start lending out critical survival organs and the borrowers were unable to pay back the EMIs.
Starring Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Alice Braga, this sci-fi action movie has very little action except for the last bit fight sequence. What really caught my attention is the song towards the last, when Jude uses the scanner to read the artificial organs in Alice. Also the very very unexpected twisted ending. I let out a howl when I saw it. Instead of creating the intrigue and up the rating level of the movie, I find it would do the reverse. It is both a clever as well as stupid ending. Gosh! I wish I wouldn't survive the day it gets invented.
The movie is all predictable except at the ending, as I have mentioned earlier. Any movie veteran can guess where initial twist had happened. But the reason for such an act, given by the person who committed the act, that's so weird. No real motive at all! Forest Whitaker appears a real psycho by his mannerisms and talking.
Anyway watch only if you really wanna watch it. It won't get a must watch suggestion from me. And moreover, don't watch it while having food or when feeling queasy in the stomach. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…