THE RAID 2 ("KICK ASS")

June 13, 2014.

Cast: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara .

Director: Gareth Evans.

Rama and his wounded colleague are out of the Serbaun Matt now, that is where Raid 2 starts off. The Police chief is killed by his rescuers and they make him an offer to go to undercover which will help wipe out the menace that is ruining the city, as a bonus he is made to know that the person who killed his brother is part of the menace that he is going to fix. Hesitantly though, he takes it up and ends up in a jail where one of the gang members’ son is imprisoned. Rama earns his goodwill and joins the  gang after his release.

Raid 2 has a complex screenplay unlike the first part, and Evans tries to establish a lotta characters with a little bit of background of everyone including family at times. This takes up a considerable amount of time in the first half to the extent that we almost forget the really cool fights that were there in between, apart from testing your patience at times. This is in stark contrast to the super fast paced first part where it was all bang bang kill kill. 

Let us hope that we find justification for all this build up in the 3^rd and final part of the series, which is rumoured to have some overlapping scenes with this part.

But then that is all the fault that you can find, for, the rest of the film is just kick ass action. Though the fighting style is similar to the first part the action choreography is really fresh different and exciting. Gareth has  added BGM to a few fight scenes and that pays off really well providing a new dimension to the brutal combat going on. Even otherwise the BGM throughout is really nice and fresh.

Just like the first part Gareth has proven his expertise when it comes to action scenes with impeccable camera placements and slick editing. This time he has given us a few slo mo shots as well mainly in the first half, actually you do not really have anything slow in the second, it is just a mad rush of adrenaline which reaches it’s peak in the brilliant and brutal climax fight. It would not be a surprise if the theatre is filled with shrieks and whistles from the audience as the energy that gets transferred to you, specially during the fights, is incredible.

Iko Uwais is slowly rising up to the stature of a bankable star who can fight and act, and with the 3^rd instalment scheduled to arrive soon it would not be shocking to find him in Hollywood; may be through a cameo in Expendables 4, let’s wait and watch!

I am giving a 3.25 for The Raid 2. It is a tad lengthy but you have enough brutal action to compensate for that!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 ("YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME BUD!!")

June 12, 2014.

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler.

Director: Dean DeBlois.

The dragons and the people of Burk are having a wonderful time together and very much happy with their usual festivals and games. One day when Hiccup and Astrid go out for a ride with their beloved dragons, they come to know of someone called Draco who is taking dragons captive to build an army. Against his father’s advice Hiccup sets out along with Toothless to convince Draco of the futility of war and bloodshed, followed obviously by Astrid and the rest of the gang. Things unexpected start happening on their journey.

There is not much of training here in the second part as compared to the first; you see more of a camaraderie between Hiccup and Toothless who are having the time of their lives having fun in each other’s company. The screenplay has tried to maintain the novelty which was the main attracting factor of the first part but it does not succeed as much as the makers would have wanted it to. Still there is a lot of fun in the film but you only get it in parts unlike the earlier edition.

You get to see a lot more dragons here some really big ones too but one might form an opinion that there is a lot less excitement during the action scenes especially when you take into account the newer and bigger dragons at play. Except for a few minutes in the climax where Toothless takes on a whole new image the feel seems to be missing, the feel to get the audience hooked on!

It may be a bit unfair to compare this with the first part but sadly that is so hard especially if you are a fan of the latter. Images and scenes keep coming to your mind no matter what you do and for the same reason comparison becomes inevitable. But if you take this as a standalone movie it may be almost as enjoyable as the first one.

All said and done it is obviously the amazing adorable Toothless who is the show stealer just like earlier. He just drills into you forcing even the stone hearted to fall in love with him with his usual antics and “Yeah it’s me.....the Great Toothless” kinda expressions. He will just sweep you off your feet!

I am giving a 3.5 for How to Train Your Dragon 2 (which includes marks for Toothless as well). He just never ceases to amaze you!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

EDGE OF TOMORROW ("EDGE OF THE SEAT")

June 6, 2014.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt.

Director: Doug Liman.

Edge of Tomorrow comes with a heavy budget of 175 million dollars bringing together a star director and a superstar.

Adapted from the Japanese novel “All you need is kill”, Edge of Tomorrow is set in a world invaded by aliens where a united human front is trying to save the planet. And to his surprise the cowardly Major Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) who cannot stand even a paper cut as he himself exclaims is ordered to be at the battle front in an all out battle against the aliens. When he refuses he is knocked out and railroaded to the military camp.

At the battle when he accidentally kills an “Alpha” alien with it’s blood spilling all over him he shockingly gets the power to reset time and is made to live the same day again and again and again, literally caught in a time loop. He finds Rita Vratavski (Emily Blunt) who has gone through the same experience in an earlier battle and together they make a plan to end the war.

As it is more of a rerun of the same time frame it inevitably brings to mind the low profile Source Code that came out a few years ago, but this is a way better written, acted and directed movie providing entertainment and thrill all the way upto the climax.

The most noticeable element in the film is the cleverly written screenplay offering a lotta humor and thrill at the same time without compromising the basic premise even for a second. The training part in the first half offers a lotta laughs while the second part heading upto the climax keeps you at the edge of your seat.

This is a very different and refreshing role for Tom Cruise as it’s not a familiar sight to see a petrified Tom hesitating to take up action. The metamorphosis later on is also handled really well by Cruise who yet again proves that when he is on screen you are just glued on just because of his sheer screen presence and charisma. Emily Blunt has also gotten a noteworthy role that she seems to have enjoyed doing.

With a runtime of just 113 minutes loaded with almost everything that you can possibly want from a movie this one is a must watch!

I am giving a 4 for Edge of Tomorrow. It’s the coming together of two greats of Hollywood; a master director and a legendary actor. Go have fun!!!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

CUCKOO ("BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL")

March 21, 2014.

Cast: Dinesh, Malavika.

Director: Rajumurugan.

Cuckoo directed by debutante Rajumurugan comes from one of his real life encounters during his stint as a Magazine reporter.

Tamizh (Dinesh) is a blind man who earns his bread mainly as a singer in a music band. He happens to meet Swathanthrakodi, who is also blind, through a common friend. Their brief encounters slowly turns to romance after the initial quarrelling. Finally when they decide to get married, their till then happy life turns awry after Kodi’s brother forcefully arranges her marriage to his friend.

Though there is nothing new in the story as such, the screenplay narration and execution are really good taking the audience right into the lives of the blind couple. Refreshingly it is not the usual tragic love story with a mushy sentimental dialogue in every other scene. Instead it’s filled with situational humor almost all through the film except for the last part.

Still there is plenty of room for improvement; there are a few unnecessary scenes that lengthen the film much beyond what is required and surprisingly there are a lotta melodramatic “coincidences” and “magic” that happens especially towards the end. If not for these two flaws Cuckoo could have easily found it’s place in the list of the greatest Tamil films.

Santhosh Narayanan has once again come up with soulful music and soothing BGM lifting the mood of the film manifold. The supporting cast also puts in a wonderful performance inspite of not being regular actors.

But Cuckoo belongs undoubtedly to it’s lead pair Dinesh and Malavika. The chemistry is crackling and they deliver a lifetime performance which is sure to be nominated for the highest awards in the country. With the brilliant and honest performance they have definitely taken the Tamizh-Kodi story to an altogether different level, much much better than what Rajumurugan must have had in mind.

I am giving a 3.25 for the film and 0.25 for it’s lead pair. Go watch it, you will fall in love.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

300 RISE OF AN EMPIRE ("THIS IS NOOT SPARTA...STILL")

March 6, 2014.

Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green.

Director: Noam Murro.

A sequel to the Spartan storm at the box office should have come a long time back but, rather late than never, it has finally hit the screens this time though with Zack Snyder donning the producer’s hat leaving the direction department to the relatively unknown Nuam Murro.

The story of the sequel happens almost parallel to the first part’s events with the Athenian General Themistokles (Sullivan) trying to unite the whole of Greece to go to war against Xerxes who wants to avenge his father’s death which happened at the battle of Marathon ten years earlier at the hands of Themistokles. Xerxes’ army is led by Armitesia (Eva Green) who is a Greek by birth but Persian at heart having raised by Persians after the atrocious killing of her family by the Greeks. While Leonidas and his 300 Spartans are guarding the Hot Gates, Themistokles and the Athenians are forced to face off the Persian Navy led by Artimesia.

The screenplay here is more layered and wide in it’s approach bringing a lot of events together and for the same reason it’s a bit of a slow start for the movie, not boring though on any account. Once the fighting starts you get loads of action at regular intervals with some good entertainment keeping you occupied.

The CG and visual effects are outstanding making this one of the best movies you have ever seen looks wise. The battle at the sea is much better than what you had in The Pirates of the Caribbean Series and it is done with such mastery that it would not be a surprise if the film gets a repeat audience just for that!

But the one main drawback of the film is that there is no Gerard Butler here, his super mighty intimidating presence is sorely missed throughout the film and Sullivan Stapleton’s Themistokles seems to come nowhere near King Leonidas.

The dialogues are nice but then it’s the same problem again, what you get is lousy delivery most of the time, the fire breathing stuff that was the trademark of 300 is really missing here. And for the same reason you have deafening cheer from the audience during the mere blink of an eye appearance by Leonidas in two scenes compared to the claps and whistles for Sullivan and his fleet.

Eva Green seems to enjoy her role as the cruel and wicked Artimesia with some cheesy dialogues and hers is the only character that will stay in your mind. Other than that there are the unavoidable resemblances to the first part; the dance like fights, the father son fighting together sequence and the trademark “This is Spartaaaa” kick too just to name a few.

Compared to the subdued first half things start heating up in the second with the best fight sequences saved up for the climax which no doubt raises the expectations for the sequel, especially with the Spartans entering the scene!

I am giving a 3 for 300 Rise of an Empire. This is NOOT Sparta....but still it’s Greece! Go watch it if you love action.

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

NEBRASKA ("WHO WANTS A MILLION DOLLARS?")

February 28, 2014.

Cast: Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Will Forte.

Director: Alexander Payne.

The Descendants, About Schmidt, Sideways; now add one more to the list of great experiences that Alexander Payne has offered us; Nebraska.

Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is an old man with drinking problems who has come to believe that he has won a Million dollars as part of a Mega Sweepstakes Marketing Prize. His everyday routine, or antic as his wife Kate (June Squibb) calls it, is to sneak out of his house to go to Nebraska where the office of the concerned company is located. As a result it’s his son David’s routine to go to pick him up from wherever Woody has reached by foot on his so called trip to Nebraska.

When this keeps happening no matter how they try to make Woody understand that it’s just a fraudulent marketing campaign David decides to take Woody to Nebraska against his mother’s and elder brother’s wishes.

Most certainly you will hear sighs of disappointment once the film starts rolling out as it’s in black and white. But as if someone has worked magic the whole audience would start laughing just a few minutes into the film completely oblivious of that fact; courtesy the brilliant writing by Bob Nelson.

The screenplay is top class with a lot of humor, a bit of drama and a lot of other elements, though unsaid, will surely go into the hearts of majority of the audience to ponder once they get out of the theatre.

Payne gives his best as usual and has managed to use small wonderful pieces of BGM just wherever necessary ending up making the already good scenes so much better.

This is undoubtedly one of the best characters that has come Bruce Dern’s way and he is outstanding as the hapless disillusioned Woody who has no sense of what’s happening around him. Almost equally good is June Squibb who simply goes on a rampage whenever she is on screen, particularly during the cemetery scene. Will Forte does a decent job as the caring son who really starts understanding his father towards the end of the film.

Though high on humor it is the simple but moving climax that will linger on even after you have left the theatre as it all boils down to a beautiful father son relationship.

I am giving a 3.75 for Nebraska. It is beautiful, go watch it with your father if you want to treasure it!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB ("SCREW THE FDA")

February 28, 2014.

Cast: Matthew Mcaunaghey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto.

Director: Jean Marc Vallee.

READ THE REVIEW HERE......!

THEGIDI ("DECENT")

February 28, 2014.

Cast: Ashok Selvan, Janani Iyer.

Director: P.Ramesh.

Looks like Ashok Selvan is slowly becoming a safe bet for newbie filmmakers. Just a few months back he came out with Villa which, though not very good, made profits and Thegidi is more or less in the same lines.

Vettri a Criminology graduate comes to Chennai after being selected as a detective in a private Detective Firm. He happens to meet Madhu (Janani) while on an assignment and develops a soft corner instantly. Later he is delighted when he is assigned to track down Madhu’s details for a client and they fall in love just as expected. Vettri’s life takes an unexpected turn when the persons he investigated start dying one by one!

The first 15 to 20 minutes of Thegidi is pretty amateurish direction wise and BGM wise; senseless pieces of BGM appearing as if controlled by a robot with a timer having no relevance whatsoever to the scenes playing out.

But once we are through with that things start getting a tad interesting with a fresh screenplay having no separate unnecessary comedy track and the likes of it which has to be appreciated, barring the songs which are a bit too many in number.

Still the lack of experience in direction really hits you on your face at regular intervals with a lotta scenes feeling incomplete and abrupt where the flow gets cut. But there are also a lotta scenes that are very well directed so it’s more like a fifty fifty thing that you get on screen.

As a concept Thegidi is a bit fresh and manages to hold your interest till the end of the first half. The second half gets a bit too ordinary as it progresses and the film starts getting predictable.

Overall Thegidi is a decent thriller; and with a sequel to come let’s hope things get better next time around.

I am giving a 2.5 for Thegidi. You can watch it for timepass you won’t get bored.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

THE MONUMENTS MEN ("NOT TO BE REMEMBERED?")

February 21, 2014.

Cast: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman.

Director: George Clooney.

The Monuments Men was touted to be this year’s ARGO and the trailers promised us just that with a stellar cast and able handed Clooney donning the Director’s hat.

Frank Stokes (Clooney) is permitted by the US President during the 2^nd World War to form a team of his choice to recover the arts stolen by Hitler from all over the world, mainly Europe, for his Fuhrer Museum. He assembles a team comprising of several people including James Granger (Damon), Richard Campbell (Murray) and Walter Garfield (Goodman).

Though the premise sounds pretty adventurous and interesting enough the screenplay is too too lacklustre and when combined with the silly BGM that comes every now and then the scenes that are already bland are made much more stupid and funny in a bad way.

You have a laugh or two once in a while in the film but those are the only scenes that are entertaining in the film. Inspite of being of such historic importance and inspite of the protagonists being in the middle of the World War the film is pretty relaxed in terms of writing, acting and direction!! There is not a single scene in the film that could be called tense.

What’s even worse is that even the dialogues that are supposed to evoke some sort of feelings, because they are so direct to the extent that the characters tell that you are supposed to be sad, fall flat on their face mainly owing to the lack of energy altogether!! It is really really sad to see such a terrible film from the man who has given us the likes of Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March etc.

The first half of the film is dead slow and comparatively, the second offers something better as we atleast get to see the events that are relatively unknown to the majority, which in no sense of the word means the film is watchable unless you have a lot of free time to spare.

The film ends with the President of the United States asking Stokes if all the efforts, money and loss of people was really worth it, whether all this will be remembered in History. Though Stokes replies in the affirmative and historically it is impossible to overlook such a noble mission, now that most people in the world are aware of it, the film sadly has been taken in such a shabby manner posing a big question to the audience whether it is something worth remembering?....I guess not!

I am giving a 2.25 for The Monuments Men. It is not a Clooney film, it’s way too lousy!!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

HIGHWAY ("NOT THE BEST OF WAYS")

February 21, 2014.

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Alia Bhatt.

Director: Imtiaz Ali.

Veera (Alia Bhatt), a business tycoon’s daughter is kidnapped by Mahabir’s (Randeep Hooda) gang by mistake. What follows is a case of the Stockholm syndrome where Veera starts falling for her captor Mahabir.

As always Imtiaz Ali comes up with something different (though the central premise is love just like all his previous films), a road movie that takes you to several Indian states with stunning landscapes captured beautifully by Anil Mehta. Though it’s an AR Rahman musical you only get to hear “Patakha Guddi” mainly (Maahi ve comes during the end titles) and a few BGM scores placed at long intervals in an otherwise silent movie. Now that might be an important point to take note of for the ARR fans.

Highway is a film loaded with positives and negatives to the extent that makes most of the audience indifferent by the time the film ends; the positives mainly being the terrific performances by Hooda and Alia (except for a few scenes in the beginning that are strikingly similar to Kareena’s role in Jab we met which really puts you off). Hooda who is silent most of the time offers an intense screen presence and is equally good when he breaks down at a later point in the film.

The screenplay shows hints of the normal Imtiaz Ali with humor at regular intervals, though less in quantity compared to his previous films, but other than those occasional scenes what you get is total silence most of the time which becomes a bit too much as the film progresses. Imtiaz Ali seems to have deliberately made that decision but it backfires big time mostly.

The history of the lead pairs ,especially Mahabir, seems a bit too stretched, unnecessary and boring. The argument that it is necessary for the lead pair to develop an intense bonding cannot be made considering the messy and stretched execution especially when the rest of the film contains lengthy silent sequences.

Still what keeps the film going are the strong performances as mentioned earlier and some really good scenes that come every now and then. One really big miscalculation on the part of Imtiaz Ali is the blatant preaching session in the climax which really takes away the mood and the film ends up much lesser than what it could have been otherwise.

I am giving a generous 3 for Highway considering the novelty and boldness. But I would not recommend that you watch it!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.