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