The Adjustment Bureau

Movie Name: The Adjustment Bureau
Genre: Romance, Drama, Slice of life
Language: English

I am die-hard fan of Matt Damon. I was waiting for this movie with great enthusiasm. The plot made a impression that movie will have some good action plot. I liked Matt in Bourne series and I was expecting the same with this movie also.

The story follows a person who is running for the senator seat but on the last moment loses due to some scandal he caused in his youth. On the same day he meets up with a girl who lefts a great impression on him. Later he is captured by some people who tells him that he cannot be with the girl. They are mysterious organization with great powers who adjust people’s life according to Chairman’s plan, so the movie name “Adjustment Bureau”. Then story forwards to 3 more years. He meets the girl again, falls in love. But later leaves her alone for the fear of girl’s future as threatened by Adjustment Bureau. Story again forwards 11 months. This time our hero fights against all odds to get the girl of his dreams. The story ends with a happy note. The movie reminded me about the greater power which plans for our life. We sometimes call it fate, destiny or God. The movie is all about how one can try his hardest to change his fate and even the supreme power will help him to attain the same.

Once again Matt has impressed me with his great acting skills. He is so natural in expressing different emotions. The leading lady, Emily Blunt is gracious in her role. Her scene where she is performing on stage is great. The strong point of the movie is story line. It makes you keep wondering about the events that may happen. Supernatural element is also available in the movie which makes it different from other action movie. The movie can easily be categorized as drama because it is not depicting fight with some enemy; it is depicting fight with destiny to fulfill one’s dream. The locations and picturisation are good. Camera work is impressive when showing the chase scene near the climax. I will recommend this movie as it carries hope to the individual and asks you to leave your inhibitions and fight against all odds to make your own path in the life.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Rango

Movie Name: Rango
Genre: Action, Drama, Animation
Language: English

I like Johnny Depp and all his different roles. I love animation movies. So “Rango” was like heavenly movie for me. And the greatest part was that it did not disappoint me a bit.

The plot follows the journey of a unnamed lizard who is left on a highway on dessert due to an accident. He travels to a village named Dirt in search of its destiny. There he gets his name “Rango” and becomes local hero and sheriff of the town by the sheer stroke of luck. The down is suffering from water shortage as somebody is stealing water. Rest of the movie follows Rango’s plight to find the thief of water and bring the prosperity back to the town.

The story is interesting and the animation amazing. On top of all this Depp’s exceptional voice has put life in the character Rango. Rango is not typical, out of the mill hero material. He is selfish, boastful and liar. But when the time of self-realization comes, he shows all the qualities of a true hero. The setup of Dirt town and its inhabitants is far different from Disney’s good looking characters. Yet the movies are funny and catchy. The sound effects are great. The movie may not interest younger kids but it will surely be liked by teenagers and adults alike. I will recommend the movie if you like goofiness of Depp, combined with some excellent animation movie.

My ratings are 4.5/5.0

Paul

Movie Name: Paul
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Sci-fi
Language: English

I was not specifically looking for this movie as already various movies are available about aliens. But I made a decision to watch the movie due to the story writes Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I liked the story and the movie way more than other alien movies.

The movie is about two comic enthusiasts from England who travels to USA to visit Comic-con and travel across to the sites which are associated with aliens, such as Area 51. They meet “Paul”, a hitchhiking alien who was captured by human in 1950 in the way. He asks them to take him to some distinct place. Some government agents are following Paul to capture him. The whole movie is about chase to detain Paul. In the way they meet with variety of people, a father daughter duo who believes aliens are devil, some goofy agents, a woman who lived all her life proving existence of alien life. The movie reminds you E.T. but in the modern setting with much experience of human interactions. Paul smokes, curses and makes you laugh. He is an alien yet has all the human feelings of friendship, trust and loyalty. Paul makes you to fell in love with him instantly.

The acting is authentic by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. But the highlight of the movie is alien “Paul”. Seth Rogen has done brilliant voice acting work as Paul. The locations and set-up are authentic and characters funny. Story is great with some good direction. The movie stands firmly against so many other fantasy movie released recently. If you are fed up with low lying aliens or anti human aliens than go watch this movie. It gives a different take on the alien hypothesis. The movie is funny and witty. It is a great comic drama.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Source Code

Movie Name: Source Code
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-fi
Language: English

Recently Jake Gyllenhaal has done some impressive work in the movies. Source Code can also be cited as one of them. The movie is all about his performance.

The story is about an Army captain who wakes up in a train to Chicago. He is in someone else body and after some time the train is destroyed in a bomb blast. Our hero wakes up again in some close bunker type of place where he is informed about some Army project “Source Code” which helps him to live as another person’s last 8 minutes of life which died in a bomb blast. The government is trying to find the bomber with the project to avoid another blast as the first one was just an indication. In due course, hero learns that he is also dead and being used in the project as his mind is still functioning. Rest of the movie is about various trips to the past and living the same moments again to find the bomber. During the mission hero falls in love with a fellow passenger and gains the will to live on. The movie ends with a happy note with a different explanation for future – present - past analogy.

The movie reminds me “Déjà vu” where Denzal Washingon tries the same with similar machine. The freshness is achieved as Jake can relive only the last 8 minutes of some person’s life. So he tries to utilize the same in various ways. The story is bounding but a bit difficult to grasp even for science fiction fans. The cinematography is great. Jake has emerged as excellent actor with the movie. There is nothing much to do for other actors. The movie is short and interesting but not entirely innovative, yet a must for science fiction fans.

My ratings are 3.5/5.0

Seconds Apart

Movie Name: Seconds Apart
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Language: English

I was just checking the new releases when I came across this movie. I watched it for a change despite the fact that I am not much passionate about horror/ thriller films.

The story revolves around twin brother Seth and Jonah. They live with their loving and caring parents. Unknown to others, they have psychic abilities and use that power to make people suicide and video graph the dying experience. One detective who has lost his wife in a fire incident suspects the brothers. The differences between brothers become evident when one of them fells for his school mate. The other one (Seth) is not able to grasp the loneliness and tries his best to separate them. The movie ends when both the brothers are happy experiencing their own death after facing the truth about their birth and life.

The story is captivating but somehow the characters and not well developed. Orlando Jones who is portraying the detective shares more screen space without any usage of the screen time in development of plot. Entin brothers, Gary and Edmund have done well but I personally liked Gary Entin in the role of Seth. He is possessive, aggressive and lonely which is depicted well by Gary with expressions. The music and scenes are impressionable. It was a good thriller with fresh storyline. There are not much special effects used as fear is developed with the plot in the mind of viewers. It is a good watch but not for weak hearted people.

My ratings are 3.0/5.0

X Men - First Class

Movie Name: X Men - First Class
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: English

I was waiting for this movie from the time I heard about it. I am avid fan of X-Men franchise, so I went to watch it on the day it was released. It was once again great fun watching X Men movie.

This time story begins from the points where various child mutants start to find their powers. Two of them are Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. The two of them are born on different continents in different conditions. One (Erik) is held hostage by Nazi camp for experimenting his magnetic powers while the other (Charles) enjoys a life of affluence. The movie follows the life of the two persons who meet and befriends. They later become estrange due to differences of opinions. Erik feels that humanity will never accept mutants while Charles wants to live with humans in harmony. There are some other mutants also which are divided among two different teams (against humans and with humans). The end of the movie marks the beginning of X Men. This movie is a must for X Men fans as it gives you more insight about the greatest mutants of all time Professor X (Charles) and Magneto (Erik).

The story is great and so as the acting. James McAvory and Michael Fassbender have done excellent work portraying young Charles and Erik. James has displayed the calmness of Professor X and Eric has displayed the aggression of Magneto. Kevin Bacon has done remarkable well as main antagonist Sebastian Shaw despite the difference in physical appearance to the comic character. Other actors have also done well. The story never fell apart despite the various tracks going on parallel. The background music was good. The most important aspect was action sequences. The movie will not fall under pure action category but the action scenes are good and the locations are genuine. The movie has intertwined history with fiction in such a way that it has become realistic. I am not with the belief that this one was the best among X Men movies, yet I believe that it has again created a standard for the next movie in the series. It does not dwell upon action sequences only, the strength of the movie is acting and the character portrayal. It will rank top among action drama movies. This is a must for all movie fans whether one is fan of X Men o not.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

A Little Thing Called Love

Movie Name: A Little Thing Called Love
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Language: Thai

I like Asian movies and I am fond of Romantic Comedy genre. So this movie was like a little gate to short lived happiness for me.

The story is about is girl in high school who is not very beautiful or intelligent. She falls for the hottest guy in the school and tries to improve herself to get his attention. She succeeds in improving her looks, academics and extra-curricular activities but still not able to get the boy to love her back. Then there is entry of another boy who woos the girl. The story ends on a happy note but with some delay. The story is pretty predictable and cliché. Yet it is funny and enjoyable in its own course.

The music was okay, nothing great as expected from such movie. As I watched it with subtitles I cannot comment much on dialogues. But there were not many dramatic ones so the movie maintained realistic tone. The acting was good by the protagonist girl played by Pimchanok. She successfully displayed the plight of a girl who is not pretty and competing against the popular girls to gain attention of her loved one. Mario has done okay as he had nothing much to express except looking good. No one else has done any spectacular work. This movie does not give you anything new but if you like light romantic movie with some comic elements; you can give it a try.

My ratings are 3.0/5.0

Shagird

Movie Name: Shagird
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: Hindi

I was looking forward to watch this movie as Nana is repeating his role of Police Officer. I liked his previous movie “Ab Tak 56” in such role. I was having great expectations from the movie and movie did not fail me in my expectations.

The story revolved around a police officer, played by Nana Patekar who is not idealistic type. He kills to gain favor from a politician, takes bribe and indulges in all the activities which profits him. There is another police officer, junior to him and a new recruit, who is not happy with such activities. The movie follows the life of these two. How one tries to collect money by means to settle in foreign land and the other one tries to learn from his senior. The story cannot be summarized in a single paragraph as there are many twists and turns. The climax is something to look out for.

From this movie, Nana has once again proved his acting prowess. He was splendid in his role as a person whose aim is survival. He does not mind the method to accomplish the same. Mohit Alawat has improved his acting and rendered an impressive performance. Music was good. The best part was story. Different twists keep you bound to your seat. The language is typical North Indian as the events are showed to happen in Delhi. This is a must movie for the people who are bored with Comedies and want something different for once.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Hanna

Movie Name: Hanna
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: English

I watched it on Sunday morning. I was waiting for the release of this movie for long as it promised to provide with great action combined with good story.

The story revolves around father daughter duo. Father has taught the daughter every possible survival tactic. CIA and Interpol are after them. The story is about how the girl evades all that and comes across the truth behind her birth and identity. The story is pretty predictable.

The acting by playing the daughter is quite good. She was able to display the curiosity and emotions of a teenager with ease. Eric Bana and Kate Blanchett have done great as usual. The dialogues were good and use of different languages has kept the feeling of authenticity. The music during action sequences is way faster than the actual action scene. The movie can be categorized as action-drama. It has not been as great as Bourne movies or as fast as “Taken”, yet the movie was able to impress with its story and acting. Some editing would have helped to improve the pace of the movie. Movie is shot in Europe where the story unfolds, yet it was unable to use the abundance of locations available.

My ratings are 3.5/5.0

I am Number Four

Movie Name: I am Number Four
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
Language: English

The movie is based on the young adult novel of the same name by “Pittacus Lore”. I was interested in the movie as it seemed to provide all the elements for a good action-fantasy movie which I am fond of.

The story of the movie is about an alien boy from planet Lorian who lives among human. His race was destroyed by another alien race Mogadorians that is still in search of him and his remaining friends. The story follows typical plots with all the elements of a Superhero movie like love affair with college sweetheart, a bully who also likes the girl, a boy who is bullied and later saved by hero and one protector whop sacrifices himself saving the hero. Nothing out of ordinary exists. But the movie can be considered as the first installment among the many.

It is not a pure action movie, rater it is an action drama film. The action sequences and graphic are good. Villains do not seem to have much power compared to the hero. Dialogues and music both do not score high. It is mediocre movie. The acting is not great either. Alex Pettyfer failed to portray the inner turmoil of the character. So the drama part of the movie seems to fall apart somehow.

My ratings are 2.5/5.0

Unknown

Movie Name: Unknown
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: English

I watched this movie yesterday. I was hopeful about the movie considering the last movie “Taken” by Liam Nelson. The tag line and the posters for the movie were promising.

The story of the movie revolves around a scientist who has gone to Berlin for some conference. He meets with an accident and wakes up after four days. Then he comes to know that his whole identity is stolen by someone else. Rest of the plot follows his attempts to prove his identity and get back his life. There are good twists in the story with a generic climax. The plot is good but movie is not able to generate the same effect on the viewer as “Taken”.

As for acting, Liam’s voice is not that impressive in the role of a scientist as there are still hints of accent used in “Taken”. He is not able to fend off the image created by “Taken”. All the actors have done their parts but none is worth mentioning for some extraordinary work. Pace of the movie is good but some more editing to make the movie short may have helped. The background music is also okay.

In totality movie was good not great. After “Taken”, more passion was expected from the movie. Still movie is worth a watch. My ratings are 3.0/5.0

Pirates of Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

Movie Name: Pirates of Caribbean - On Stranger Tides
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Language: English

I watched on the opening weekend itself. I was overwhelmed by the crowd which was there for the movie. Everyone was excited to watch the new pirate movie. I also went with high expectations.

The story was about the search for fountain of youth. There were many a troupes looking for the same. English troupe with Captain Barbosa, Black Beard pirate ship with Captain Black Beard and Jack Sparrow and daughter of Black Beard and Scottish troupe were the search parties. Jack was in the center of attention as he was the only one who knew the exact location of the fountain. There were twists, turns, dangers, mermaids and what not in the magnificent journey. It was a journey which displayed many a shades in Jack’s character. There was love interest for Jack in the movie as Angelica, daughter of Black Beard played by Penelope Cruz.

The direction was great so as the graphics used in the movie. The 3D effect was not prominent part of the movie. The background music was also compatible with the story. But despite all this, the movie solely belonged to Jack played by Depp. Depp was successful to display the coolness of Jack with slight eeriness once again. Depp handled the pressure of repetition well and made the movie one of the favorites among movie buffs. Other actor/ actresses had done well but there was not much to do for them. Penelope has done justification with the lead female role. The movie was a treat with funny dialogues, great graphics and Depp :) It is a must watch for all movie goers. Ending has indicated for a possible movie in the series.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Limitless

Movie Name: Limitless
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: English

This movie was not among the hyped or much talked about. I watched this movie without knowing anything about the plot or the movie itself. It came up as a pleasant surprise as I liked the movie.

The story is about a writer played by Bradley Cooper (Hangover fame). He has many issues in his life like his girlfriend broke up with him, he has no money, and he is not able to write the book for which he has taken a contract. Combining all this you find a chaotic life. One day he meets with his brother in law (writer was already married and divorced once), who gives him a medicine in process for approval. The medicine can increase one’ brain usage to 100% (normal people have brain usage about 20-30%). Writer is able to bring his life back on track within a day. But he finds himself craving for more, after the effect fades out. He looks for more and gets the same. Now the story follows his rise to top and the side effects of the medicine. Movie ends with an unrealistic happy ending.

The acting was okay, nothing great. But the plot was good. There was nothing much to do for Robert De Niro either. Cooper was okay with the characterization. But he somehow is not able to express much with his demeanor. Movie keeps you bind with its evolving plot. There are not many loose points or holes in the story. Action sequences and the effects of drug look great due to good direction and camera work. In totality it may not be a movie worth going to theater but it is definitely worth a watch on DVD.

My ratings are 3.5/5.0

Hangover II

Movie Name: Hangover II
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English

I watched this movie last weekend. I went for the movie with great expectations as I enjoyed the first part of the series a lot. There was not similar rush as for “Pirates Of Caribbean- 4”. Still I was hopeful for the best.

The story was very much similar to first part. Wolf pack again started for an adventure. This time to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. They managed to wreak havoc in Bangkok and to lose Stu’s brother in law in all the chaos. There begins the search for the lost moments. There were various elements connecting the story but still story was not as convincing as the first part. The story was definitely included more nudity and stupidity. The story touched upon all the negative aspects of Thailand, sparing all the beautiful and historical components :)

Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper were not inventive in their acting. There was nothing new in the roles and the act. But the acting by Zach was great. There were scenes where he conveyed from his expressions only the emotions and the feelings of the most eccentric character “Alan”. Zach stole the show with his stupidity laced with innocence. There was one more character worth mentioning, a monkey which wolf-pack found with them after hangover. I did not find him much entertaining except the scene where his introduction is provided by “Chow”.

The movie was not great but funny for sure. It was successful in delivering the viewers the laugh they expected. It kept them bound with its stupid humor and senseless plot. Nonetheless movie was successful in making viewers to eagerly wait for next installment of series. Movie is definitely worth a watch with friends.

My ratings are 3.5/5.0

Kalavani

Movie Name: Kalavani
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Language: Tamil

I was looking forward to watch this movie as suggested by one of my friends. Movie was in Tamil so I took help of subtitles. It was worth the trouble of reading subtitles while listening to a language unknown to me.

The plot of the movie revolves around a guy named “Arikki” in a small village of South India. He is studying in intermediate (+2) and has failed twice already. He enjoys life without helping his mother or sister in household chores unknown to his father working in Dubai. He meets a girl named “Mahesh” from nearby village and falls in love with her as typical love on first sight. The rest of story consists of their trials and attempts to fulfill their dreams to marry each other. The story is simple without much drama element. It is a feel good movie with a happy ending.

The music was good to listen even when I was not able to understand the lyrics. The acting was good. Everyone looked natural in the role. I liked the acting by “Thirumurugan” who has acted as girl’s brother and main villainous character. Acting by both the protagonists is good. They are looking naturally in love without any cheesy dialogues or long monologues. The setting is in a village with great scenic beauty.

I liked the movie very much as it does not load you with heavy dialogues, sets or locations. Nothing looks artificial in the movie. The only negative point is length. It is about 150 minutes long. But one does not feel bored. I will suggest the movie to the people who can accept subtitles and can read them very fast :)

My ratings are 4.0/5.0