Transformers III - Dark of The Moon

Movie Name: Transformers III - Dark of The Moon
Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Romance
Language: English

Finally I got chance to watch the latest Transformers movie. I did not expect it to be so long (~150 Minutes), yet I liked the movie very much.

The story follows from the second part of the movie. Sam (played by Shia LaBeouf) is confused about his life as he does not want to continue to some mundane job after saving the planet in first two movies. He has broken up with his last girlfriend and is in relationship with Carly (played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley). This time earth faces the danger from the new found member of Autobots, Centennial Prime. Megatron along with Shockwave, a new addition to Decepticons team helps Centennial Prime to bring Cybertron to earth. Rest of the plot, follows the ordeal of Sam and Autobots-team lead by Optimus Prime, as they thwart the plans of villains. The script beautifully contains the story within 2.5 hours. The story justifies the length of the movie.

The movie is all about action sequences which are directed beautifully. This time, movie does not dwell much on the dramatic sequences. There are many renowned actors in the movie, but the movie does not do any justification with all of them. Anyway, it is all about Transformers, not humans :-) In sum, for Transformers' fans it is a great movie but for others it is a bit complicated to understand and just a mix of great action sequences.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Zookeeper

Movie Name: Zookeeper
Language: English
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

I opted to watch Zookeeper as it was produced by Adam Sandler and Kevin James was performing the lead role. I have been a fan of Sandler's comedy movies.

The story of the movie revolves around a simple guy named Griffin who works as a zookeeper. He is very affectionate towards zoo animals. Therefore zoo animals decide to disclose the secret to him that they can all talk like humans. They do this in order to help him to get his dream-girl who rejected his marriage proposal 5 years ago and is back in his life. Griffin changes himself to be liked by his love but in the process he realizes the true love of his life and importance of being oneself. There have been several movies made with the similar formula, only the talking animals have added to the novelty.

The acting by Kevin James was good but nothing exemplary. He has portrayed the character somewhat similar to the one in "Hitch". But here Will Smith is not there to support him :) All of the voice actors and scenes with animals were good. None else had much screen space. The comic timings of the movie was a bit off and therefore movie was not able to make me laugh that hard. There is not anything else worth mentioning. In sum, movie was not able to deliver up to the expectations.

My ratings are 2.5/5.0

Cube

Movie Name: Cube
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Thriller

I liked the movie "Hypercube" which I watched long back. I recently got a chance to watch the first movie in the series, named "Cube". I did not miss the chance for the thrill ride.

The story revolves around six people who wake up in a maze of cube shaped rooms. Some of the rooms have highly sophisticated death traps. The people include a cop, a psychiatrist, a maths student, a mental patient with high affinity to maths, an expert in escaping from prison and a designer who helped in making the maze. The story is about survival from death traps and finding the escape route from the maze. The plot keeps evolving providing insights to the individuals, as people lose their humanity among chaos.

The story keeps the viewer bound with its twists and turns, but the ending does not clarify the elements of the movie and keeps the viewer dangling, probably to wait for the next installment. There is not any well recognized actor in the movie yet everyone have performed their part well. The music is good, so as the cinematography. Director has wisely used the ever increasing tension among individuals to show their person demons to viewers. For people who like movies such as Saw and Final Destination, this movie is definitely a treat. My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Karigurashi no Arrietty

Movie Name: Karigurashi no Arrietty
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Slice of Life

Somehow watching Ghibli Studio movies make me feel good, therefore I watched one on my birthday. As always, it did not let me down and I was once again filled with new enthusiasm and a will to fight for survival.

The story revolves around a "borrower" girl named Arrietty. Borrowers are small sized people who live beneath the wooden floors and survive by borrowing from humans. A young boy named Sho comes to visit his grandmother's house, where he sees Arrietty. The story follows the survival story of Arrietty and her family. The movie is all about the will to survive against all odds. Arrietty gives hope to Sho also who has to undergo a heart surgery. The story leaves a deep impression despite being simple and pretty much predictable.

I always liked the simplicity and the characters of Ghibli movies. Sho and Arrietty depicts the pessimist and the optimist respectively. The animation is great and beautifully shows the importance of trivial things in the life of borrowers which are not much valued by humans. The music is okay. This movie may not be as great as other Ghibli productions but still I feel that for animation lovers, it is a must to watch.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Kiki's Delivery Service

Movie Name: Kiki's Delivery Service
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice-of-Life

I like Ghibli movies as they depict the everyday trials of human with such a ease in the movies. I recently watched another masterpiece by the Studio.

This movie revolves around a young witch named Kiki. She needs to live independently for one year as per her training as a witch. Therefore she lefts her home and reaches a coastal town where witches are not so common. She makes new friends and opens a delivery service for survival as all she can do as witch is flying. The movies depicts her trials and her efforts as she makes friendship with locals. The movie gives message that everyone needs inspiration to do one's task wholeheartedly. One can continue one's work only when one has strong feelings about the work and great inspirations to do the same.

The movie at its course also delivers the message about individuality. Kiki wants to buy a dress in the movie so that she can look pretty like the other girls of her age but she does not have enough money to spare. In the end it is shown how her way of dressing has become a fashion. Kiki inspires one to maintain one's own individuality rather than following others.

This movie was like all other Ghibli movies with a simple plot and lovable characters. The music was good and the dialogues were simple. The movie is ideal for the teenagers who are eager to go out in the world and experience the things first hand. My ratings are 4.0/5.0

Whisper of the Heart

Movie Name: Whisper of the Heart
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice-of-Life

I like Japanese animation movies. I watched this Ghibli production animation movie recently. Again the movie did not fail my expectations.

The movie revolves around a young girl named Shizuku who is studying junior high school. The plot revolves around her life, her friends, her love and most importantly her aim in life. The movie is successful in giving message that everyone needs to search for one's true inner calling. Humans are like rocks which are needed to be dug deeper to find gems and later to be polished to reach at its actual worth. The story is about Shizuku's journey to find her place in the world. The movie is able to give deeper sense to any simple scene. For example, there is a scene where Shizuku's boyfriend tells her that he wanted to carry her on bicycle on a steep road. But the girl declines and tells that she does not want to be a burden to him, she rather wants to help her on the steep road. The scene renders the beliefs of a couple beautifully without much ado.

As the movie deals with the life and trials we face everyday, important aspect of the movie are dialogues. Scenes and dialogues combined are capable to deliver the message. The music is great. This movie is must for any Chibi movie fans. This may not be as great as "Spirited Away" yet it is a treat for the people who believes in trying and trying hard with everything they got.

My ratings are 4.0/5.0