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…

Movie#54 Vaaranam Aayiram ( Tamil- India)

A true celebration of life. I can't find the correct superlatives to judge this work. It is such an awesome experience that could only be conveyed through viewing it. Never expected such a classic and dedicated work from tamil, for I always thought tamil movies were filled with stereotypes. The movie has so much impact to a viewer that it could linger for days, in freshness, as though it was viewed only moments away.
It stars Suriya, Simran, Divya Spandana and Sameera Reddy. Suriya does a double act as father and son. An upcoming youngster from south India, Suriya in my opinion has arrived. With this work he has surpassed the so called greats who never acknowledge their old age, namely, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan etc etc. Clubbed with Suriya are Prithviraj, Naran, Indrajeet, Kunchacko Boban, Jayasuriya etc etc but Suriya, in my opinion, is a step above all. If I have to dig out some negatives of this movie, then I should point out the make up of his 'father' character and the feeling of 'passage of time' in the movie. Time seems to fly like a finger snap and Suriya seems to enjoy lot of comfort with his limited pocket money. But all those negatives cover itself in this beautiful story. Editing does it's magic also. Every screen has an importance to the progress of the movie. The songs are melodious and music is catchy.
A father–  son relationship is well brought out. It may be contested as hypothetical but this is what every son dreams of from his father. Simran, surprisingly, shrugged off her glamour and fit nicely into the mother role. The same with Sameera Reddy, no glamour. Divya personifies sweetness but a strong person with well formed ideas. The movie brings out the idea of love at first sight and how romance blossoms. The emotional scenes need special mention too. It also tells us how 'life goes on' from tragedy to hope. The end is so emotional but it brings out the element of hope yet again. Just beautiful!!!
Watch it, whoever get a chance. The movie runs almost 2 hours and 30 mins, maybe more. But you will never feel the time passing. My personal rating is 4.5 out of 5…

Movie#53 Operation Endgame

A work which is no work at all, in my opinion. I think that the director lost the direction of plot after the first 10 minutes. This stars Joe Anderson, Rob Corddry, Ellen Barkin, Maggie Q, Adam Scott and Emelie De Ravin. Barring a couple of them, all the rest are very unknown to me.
The starting of the movie made an impression of a spy thriller. After the introduction of characters, I thought it was a spy comedy. The setting of the movie looked identical to the 'umbrella corporation' of Resident Evil. When the action broke out, it seemed like an action movie. Then the gruesome killings started, which made me think in lines of a horror interspersed with wry humour. Then at the end, it turned out to be a spy–  thriller–  mystery. All in all, I became an emotional bag of sh**. I hope that those of you, who cared to read my posts got what I wanted to convey.
An unassuming guy gets a call to join a very secret organization led by the Devil (no no, not the devil from hell–  worse than that–  a human). The organization is divided into two competing teams, the alpha and omega. Each team have agents almost with identical skills. One team is always causing disequilibrium in the world order (not the new world order of secret societies of the world) and the other team's agenda is to bring about equilibrium from chaos. The new agent, then finds himself in a battle to death between the teams, on the very day he decided to join. The devil, to prevent the leakage of secret to the outside world authorizes a location lockdown and self destruct timer–  Operation Endgame. The new agent has other ideas and orders. The story thus unfolds.
Too much filth and abusive language makes this a no-no for family. No clear cut plan of action makes this a 'no movie' at all. The rest in my case is a history, I had to watch and bear with the rubbish since I paid for it.
My personal rating is 1 out of 5…

Movie#52 Death at a Funeral

Warning to those of you who haven't seen it yet–  Don't waste your money on this. If you still want to watch the story, watch the original. I guess it was released in 2007 or so…not sure, check in imdb.com
I took this from the store because of the awesome star cast. Naming a few who have acted in this are Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence (ML), Chris Rock (CR), Zoe Saldana (ZS), Luke Wilson (LW) and James Marsden. There are a lot more but I guess they are not that well known, at least in my opinion. This impressive line–  up and a tried and successful story line, I thought it would make my evening a happy one. But it turned out to be a dull, boring, drag affair. I just wanted to get it over with and hit the sack. One of the reason I might have felt like that could be because I had watched the original. So the expectation level was high. Then it starred some of my favourite comedians such as M. Lawrence and C. Rock. I now learned a valuable lesson, never rent movies out of impulse. Read the review before going for some unplanned ones.
The story is almost the same as the original. I didn't find anything novel in this. Then why did the director go for such a venture? Was it a charity act by these actors? Well lot of questions remain unanswered. Everyone of them put their reputation at stake and came out burned. ML and CR tried their best to bring out the humour but it just wouldn't connect as the original. LW has had a forgettable outing. He could have been avoided to same production cost.
My personal rating will be 2 out of 5…

Movie#51 Hot Tub Time Machine

A comedy starring John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry. It is about 4 adult guys, bored with their life and on the verge of being labeled losers, decide to visit a hotel which was the 'it' place during their hey days, the 80's. The four guys comprise of 3 'adults' and a young geek (if geeks are losers). The geek is related to one of the 3 'adults' as his nephew.
Let me warn you at the onset, this is not a laugh riot. But a silly movie to make you smile for the rest of the week end. I can be watched with the family except if you don't mind the constant usage of f*** and occasional mammary show. I guess I watched the unrated version then. The comedy lies in the dialogues and not in the actions on majority of the times, so watch that out. Else watch it with subtitles.
About the setting and special effects, there is nothing to comment about as there are none. I was reading the review of this movie at imdb and there it has got 6+ rating from almost 20000+ votes. I should say, after watching this, that I have had watched better comedy than this one, especially in my mother language.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#50 Keralotsavam Mission 2009 ( Malayalam- India)

An average work by director Shankar Panicker with actors Vinu Mohan, Nedumudi Venu, Kalabhavan Mani and Vishnupriya. The movie seems to be made with the idea to foster Indian unity and denounce communalism. The idea and theme are very good and have good intent but it is the movie that was disappointing.
The summary is that a festival was planned by the Kerala govt named Keralotsavam. The supervision of the festival's cultural programme fell on the character played by Nedumudi Venu. He is ably supported by his daughter, character played by Vishnupriya. While doing the casting for Kalari ( martial arts), they meet a simple man, character played by Vinu Mohan, who in turn has a dark past and agenda. It is how these events roll out that was depicted in this work.
Vinu Mohan is a good actor with potential. His ability is under utilized in the movie by the director. Nedumudi Venu shines in character. As a veteran, he should be. Vishnupriya has a character role that talked too much to the point of viewers' irritation. Kalabhavan Mani did me a favour by choosing a role which had less importance, hence more appreciative. The director had put songs at odd positions to drag the movie. He might have been banking on the audio sale in case the movie did not click with the audience. In a way he is right…
Personal rating is 2 out of 5…

Movie#49 Predators

Oh! wow! I found this one without takers in the rental store. With the hype built around this one, I decided to watch it with my friends. We got ourselves the snacks for the night and watched it without a break.
First, it stars Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov, Topher Grace and cameo by Laurence Fishburne. Second point to note is that the hype around the movie was just a hype. I find that the film did not live up to my expectations. So much was expected from this one as it was advertised as the original sequel from the Predator part one. And finally the third point is that the fight sequences lacked the 'oomph!' factor. The absence of catchy music was missing. Just the predator growl was not enough.
The gist of the movie is that a group of trained warriors were brought to a unknown place and were hunted by the predators in a game. Each warrior falls from the sky, it is during the fall that they woke up to their senses, into this unknown place. They are then picked off one by one, the same way as all predator series. The setting and the shooting location are excellent. The location is the same area as Valhalla Rising movie ( exception–  this movie is understandable than that one). Laurence Fishburne has a cameo role only, maybe because he is more distracted by what is happening in his daughter's life.
A satisfactory weekend watch but don't raise your expectations. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5…

Movie#48 Extraordinary Measures

A true story–  drama starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford and Keri Russell. It depicts the struggle of a mid level executive in a multi national drug firm and his wife in their quest for a enzyme treatment for their two children with Pompe disease.
A family in their quest for the treatment of their two children with a rare genetic disorder, which causes accumulation of glycogen in vital organs leading to enlargement and then failure. Faced with life changing decision, the family sacrifices and take risk in their journey. The film brought up two main factors, one is the public awareness of such a genetic disorder and second is the family struggle due to the same.
Harrison Ford characterizes an eccentric scientist with a break through idea for a cure for Pompe disease but without adequate to proceed. He has his own problems in life due to his eccentricities, mainly, short temper. In this movie, it shows how all these factors and personalities culminate together to a hope filled ending
Special mention to the two kids who acted as the sufferers of Pompe disease. It looked so natural as I first thought that they were real sufferers who lent support to act in a movie to raise awareness. But not so and it showed their superb acting skill.
My personal rating is 3 out of 5

Movie#47 Malayali ( Malayalam- India)

After a long gap, Kalabhavan Mani decided to act in a meaningful movie. Here is an actor with immense talent in dramas and soft comedy, who went into acting in total trashy action movies, probably from the flattery around him by idiots. I think that actors should be able to judge themselves and accept roles which suit them. It is almost like high end fashion, where if one wears a latest trendy dress which does not suit them at all, then they are a mockery in front of public. Such is the case of this actor in his previous movies. But criticising him will be like a double edge sword in Kerala, India. He is projected as the ideal country stud of malayalis, which I find very absurd. The ' good for nothings' around him made him believe that he was the fantasy of all Kerala girls. Showing his dark thighs, blurting out trashy dialogues, dancing with awkward steps and dishing out self made country songs made him a poster boy in all Kerala girls' bedrooms, maybe that's what he was be made to believe.

This movie was a great refresher for me in his case. I wouldn't use superlatives as greatest or best, but in this he did a decent performance. There are areas in which malayalam movie still need to improve to catch up with movie making in neighbouring states, such as character building and stunts. If movie could be divided into 4 quarters, the entire 2^nd  quarter is dedicated to build his character as a simple, sincere, always helpful and dedicated man to the family. That was kind of boring. But generally, the story runs without much glitches. When will malayalam directors learn that if a human being was to be beaten up like that, he couldn't stand up to come lunging again. I call malayala movie stunts as 'rubber' stunts. They keep coming back to get hit!!! Another curious thing I noticed is that during the part of the movie in which Mr Mani and late Mr Murali interacts, the camera showed a stranger staring at them and then that guy would have no role at all. Very confusing!

My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5

Movie#46 Invictus

A wonderful piece of work from Clint Eastwood. It stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie has excellent real shots, footages and superb camera work of rugby action. I shall suggest this as a MUST SEE for any movie lovers and rugby lovers. An inspirational work.
The story is that of Nelson Mandela inspiring a worn out and facing disbandment South Africa Springboks rugby team to an amazing feat. Together, with their victory, Mr Mandela achieves unity among South Africa whites and blacks (discriminatory words but I couldn't find any alternatives). It is a true story, I guess. It runs at a time when Mr Mandela became the president of SA and there was wide spread suspicion and bad blood between the races in SA. Mr Mandela knows that for the progress of SA, he needed to unite everyone. He decided to inspire their rugby team, which was facing disbandment because it reminded everyone of the apartheid and also was playing well below par. Together, they achieve what was considered impossible.
The camera work is superb and I couldn't distinguish between real shots and footage. Camera moves within the rugby game and grunts are realistically captured. Morgan Freeman glitters in the role of Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon does superb work as the captain of Springboks. After watching the movie, I was lost in thought for quite a while.
My personal rating is a total fiver- 5/5
Must Watch!

Movie#45 St Trinian's II- The Legend of Fritton's Gold

Before even I started watching this, I knew that it was gonna be a girlie movie. So no surprises there. An entertainer and that's it. Do not expect more than some pretty  faces, materialistic minds, hip talks, girlie chatter, colourful dressing and nice music. Because the movie has nothing to offer. And most imporatantly, do not try to use rationality to any incident….

It stars a lot of cool actors such as Rupert Everet, Colin Firth and my favourite–  Gemma Arterton. I'm also beginning to think that Colin Firth could be gay or at the most bi because I have started to see playing a lot of characters of that resemblance.

The movie is about a quest to find a hidden treasure by the St Trinians girls. There are lot of parody scenes resembling other major movies.

My personal rating is 2 out of 5…

Movie#44 Percy Jackson & the Olympians- The Lightning Thief

How can I summarize this in one line? A family movie, especially  aimed for the kids. It stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T Jackson, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Steve Coogan.
The gist of the story is that Zeus lost his lightening bolt and accuses Poseidon's son, Perseus, of stealing it. If not returned by a specific date, then he predicts that there would be war and the end of world. Mean while, the off-spring of gods live among the humans as normal people. The gods are not permitted to meet with their off-springs due to a decree passed by Zeus. The demi-gods have a sanctuary on earth called the camp, where they train and Perseus is brought there by a series of events. From here, he sets out with his friends to meet Hades, who had captured his mother to bargain for the bolt, and Zeus to tell him the truth that he did not steal the bolt. With him is Anabeth, off-spring of Athena, and a Satyr who is his 'junior' protector.
The story rolls with the help of special effects which hold the viewers attention. I personally felt that the producer could have had saved money by avoiding the Satyr character. His role, as you will notice, a stereotype of side kicks. And he talks way too much to the point of irritation.
My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5

Movie#43 Date Night

A comedy genre starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Mark Wahlberg. Personally, I found that the actors were trying their best to be funny and not spontaneous enough. A good unassuming entertainer is what I shall call it…
A bored unassuming New Jersy couple decide to do something different on their date night. They do an unplanned drive to the city to visit a hip restaurant. Arriving late and with no reservation at the restaurant, they overhear the receptionist calling out for another couple to occupy table. So to make their evening/night interesting, they decide to be 'that' couple. Little do they know that they were about to get more than what they had bargained for.
Steve and Tina put up their best effort and they do deserve an applause. The funny scenes are entertaining but not 'fall out the chair' laughable. But they do wreck a wonderful car during the movie. Mark Wahlberg chips in as a tech expert.
A good watch for to unwind a hectic week and a good family entertainer too. My personal rating is 2.5 out of 5