Avatar: Well Done, Mr. Cameron! Doff Your Hat and Take a Bow!

Well...this review comes a bit late in the day -- actually in the eleventh hour, to be honest -- but then I had to make Avatar go through the rigors of my test. And what was the test? I am back after watching the 3D version for the third time, shelling out obscene amounts for the tickets each time...and, does the movie still amazes me enough to go for a fourth time? Does it pass the test? With flying colors, mate! Damn! I cannot get past that shell plunking right into my face. Okay, for the first time, it was a surprise, and as that third shell in the first of the two major fight sequences in the movie is fired from the screen towards the audience, I coudn't help but take an evasive action...BUT...man, I was prepared the second and third time, and still that shell got me every single time. Huh! Such is the charm of the movie, with so many sequences of sheer directorial brilliance and striking the right chord with the audience that you can't help but stand up and applaud James Cameron.

Everyone's aware of the plot...actually quite straight-forward, with a tribe called Navi on a planet called Pandora in danger of being run over by the greedy and inhumane humans from Earth. And what do the humans want? Ubtonium...a super-precious reserve. Natuarally, there has to be two camps of good guys and bad guys. And Good guys mix with the original inhabitants as their avatars to get to know them better, while the bad ones want to obliterate the entire race with their massive holocaustic weapons. The good guys, lead by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) ultimately win and bad guys are sent back to Earth! That's the whole plot...but boy! With James Cameron at the helm of affairs, be prepared to be transcended to a different world altogether. And mind you...it's just not the special effects that make this movie so special, but the sensitivity and effortlessness with which the emotions are brought that makes this one an outstanding piece of art. You can't help but fall for the pugnacious yet charming Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Watch her hiss at the enemy and then watch her kiss her man...and you know what I mean here!

Cameron, with a history of best-of-the-generation action sequences what with The Terminator, Aliens, True Lies and much more, does it in a grand manner once again with Avatar. With monster bazookas and frighteningly humongous gunships, there is simple no other option but to be in awe of the grand spectacle. The action sequences are absolutely delectable and in-your-face, literally.

A word about the performances. Both Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana have given a good performance...nothing outstanding, but yes, impressive, nonetheless. Sigourney Weaver, too is in good form.

Any weak points? Well...you might argue about the length a bit, but for me it was not an issue at all! I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment!

This is one of those movies that change the course of movie making and inspire a whole new generation to think beyond the ordinary when it comes to moviemaking. Thanks Mr. Cameron for your most sincere efforts, and yes...I am gonna test your that damn shell for the fourth time as well! Easy...isn't it...for you to make people reach out to their pockets so easily. But then you deserve it. So Well Done, Mr. Cameron! Doff Your Hat and Take a Bow!

The Taking of Pelham 123

Folks...you have to excuse me, but this review is gonna be biased. Heck, what else you expect when you have a movie with Trovolta playing the bad guy. Add to it Denzel Washington...and the movie becomes a scorcher no matter how deadpan is the storyline. These are two iconic stars of our generation who make screen come alive with their mere presence.

It's not an action movie, so don't go expecting huge explosions and flying daggers and bullets. Rather, for a good part, the movie is merely a conversation between our two leading men, Garber (Denzel Washington) and Ryder (John Trovolta). But just listen to it and it's trillion tons more enjoyable than exploding screens. Garber, a regular railway employee who directs subway trains, is caught in an awkward situation to talk to Ryder who has taken hostage a subway train with passengers in it. Ryder wants $10 million only to reveal later that the stakes are much high than that amount.

Garber becomes the chief negotiator and has to also hand over money to Ryder in the train, and also drive the train to take Ryder to safety. However, Garber decides to play supercop and chases down Ryder and ends up face to face in a do-or-die situation.

The plot has some serious loopholes and the direction too is not enigmatic. Tony Scott is definitely not the greatest director ever. However, the mere presence of Trovolta and Washnigton lifts the movie several notches higher than the regular crap Hollywood spews these days.

Watch it and enjoy you two hours.

The International: A superb thriller with the one of the best gunfight scenes ever shot

Just go for it. Period. The International is the best thriller of the year so far. And to top it all -- it has got one of the best ever gunfight scenes...gripping, gruelling and gross!

The plot of the movie is quite topical. With the whole ready to crucify bankers for being those who brought the recession, the movie suggest that it is the bankers who hold the whole world to ransom and are the real evil of this world.

The International starts with the Interpol agent Louis Salinger's (Clive Owen) colleague getting killed. He tracks all this fishy business to IBBC bank, which is involved in a multi-million dollar arms deal. Throughout sporting a dishevelled look, which quite suits him, Clive Own, aided by the beautiful Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), chases the killer from Berlin to Paris to Milan to New York, where eventually the epic gunfight happens. But tracking down the killer is just revealing the tip of the iceberg. It's the powerful people at IBBC who make the shady deals that involve everyone in the system. I won't reveal the final plot as to how Clive Owen brings the bank down...or does he?

The International is a gripping tale of international conspiracy and murder. The cinematography is absolutely marvellous, with fantastic overhead shots of various locations in Europe and smart camera angles during the gunfight. It's a movie with lots of brains also...there are times in The International when you gasp and say...that's bloody smart!

The only sore spots with The International is editing and dialogues. With smarter editing and dialogues, it could have been in the same league as the Bourne series. Still, The International makes a spectacular watch. An absolute fun, you'll come out fully entertained...the reason you go to movies!

Seven Pounds: A tale that'll touch your heart

Two movies in two days - well that's exactly what I've done in a long time this weekend. The first one, which I had reviewed yesterday was Tom Cruise's Valkyrie, a racy thriller. Today, was exact opposite - Seven Pounds, an emotional drama with a lumbering pace.

So, getting down to the verdict - well if you can sit through the whole movie, you'll come out with a lump in your threat. The movie, running around two hours, is, for most of the part very slow, and only picks up in last 20-25 minutes. The team of "The Pursuit of Happyness" gets together to tell another touching tale. However, the second act isn't as good as the first one. For first hour, it's just various things happening in patches and you can't really connect to the whole plot. Even with the iconic Will Smith present, the film almost manages you to put to sleep in this first hour, and you might as well be tempted to leave the theater. But...only if...you hang for few more minutes the movie comes into its own and makes you crouch for all the incidents start to connect and brings out a remarkable story.

The film starts with Ben Thomas (Will Smith) blasting the blind customer care person, Ezra Turner(Woody Harrelson) and saying the meanest things about him being blind. Ben tries to contact a number of people - Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), who is running a huge debt; Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carello), who is regularly abused by her boyfriend; Holly (Judyann Elder) who needs a liver. And Ben is trying to help these complete strangers, going out of his way to do so. Things keep happening, with Ben never revealing much about himself to anyone, including Emily, who he falls in love with. Ben keeps getting nightmares about a car crash, which killed seven people, including his family. It's only in the last 20-25 minutes that you get to see all the pieces weave together to spin a touching, heart-wrenching tale.

It's definitely not something that'll cheer you up much, so I'll say keep the movie to some time when you are feeling a bit low, a bit philosophical about life and just wanna be alone. It'll warm your heart.

And the title, Seven Pounds? Well, I still can't figure out why did they name the film so. My guesses include It's seven people whom Ben tries to help, as he was responsible for death of seven people. May it's because...well, that'll be revealing the plot too much. The performances are okay. Both Will Smith and Rosario Dawson have given superb performances. However, there isn't much to do for masters like Woody Harrelson.

So, sombre down a bit, relax and don't get out in the middle...it's worth watching the complete movie.

Valkyrie: An edge-of-the seat thriller

First the correct pronunciation - it's wall curry. I didn't get it until i went to see the movie; so, relax if u are still twisting your tongue around it. Now the verdict - fantastic fare that deserves your two hours of the busy weekend.

As a director, what would you do if you get a fairly straight plot, not the glittering line up of stars, and same-old, hackneyed World War II plot to set your movie in. Well, you direct your movie bloody well. And that's what Valkyrie comes out - a bloody well directed movie. With Tom Cruise as the one-eyed, Colonel Clauss von Stauffenberg, who plots to kill history's one-of-the-most hated dictators and destiny's favorite child, Adolf Hitler - the Fuhrer, and save his country from going down the drain, the film revolved around the plot to kill. With tight and nail-biting plots where the protagonist comes close to being caught, the film is backed by a smart script and solid screenplay. As Colonel Stauffenberg resolutely goes about executing the plan, the first few hours after the assassination attempt are such tense and edge-of-the-seat affairs, it draws oohs-and-aahs from the audience, acknowledging how some of the decisions made in pressure went on to change history; how a simple Yes instead of No could have changes the world forever. The film is able to fully capture the viewers' mindspace and makes you glued to your seat till the very end.

To accompany Tom Cruise, there are old warhorses like Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy (seen as Captain Devy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean). Director, Bryan Singer, who gave us Oscar winners like Usual Suspects is in great form and delivers a great effort. It's hard to say if it'll be in Oscar's race but it can certainly come close to nominations.

The movie has not been publicized much, and there were hardly 40 people in the theater we went to watch it. However, everyone was left mesmerized by the movie. So my advice would be -- Go watch it, it's worth it!

The Dark Knight: Something to die for

Runtime: 2hrs 30 mins
Genre: Thriller/Action
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aron Eckhart, Maggie Gynelhall



"Madness is like gravity...all it takes is a little push" exclaims the joker with aplomb. And it's the joker who you wait for to come on screen to make the exciting look nerve wrecking, to make the evil look brutally devilish, to make the clinking hear like maddening thunder.

It's Heath Ledger all the way. His portrayal of joker has got written an Oscar all over it. No remorse, no cry...just being at diabolic best is what comes out splashed all over the screen with Ledger delivering such a towering performance. He scares Gotham not just in the body but in the spirits. And Batman, the do-gooder can at best watch helplessly as the Joker trundles his way to make the entire Gotham hostage to his undying zeal to cast the evil over the city.

The movie starts with a heist in the Gotham city. Naturally, Batman (Christian Bale) being the protector, gets after the criminals. And who better than Joker to assure all the dons that if they eliminate Batman, Gotham city would be ruled by them. But then, Gotham has got crusaders like Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), a highly talented lawyer, who is hell bent to put behind bar all the criminals. With Batman aka Bruce Wayne, the industrialist, realizing that Gotham needs a crusader with a face rather than a caped crusader like him, throws his weight and might behind Harvey Dent. Dent manages to put behind bars all the criminals, but not the Joker, who is busy executing his menacing plans. Judges and Police chiefs are blown up, the entire Gotham city is getting empty, and people have started loosing trust in goodness....all that joker wanted. And yes, Joker also manages to transform the good fellow Harvey Dent into a hardened soul, who is out to kill those he think are responsible for his miseries. However, the good (Batman) has to triumph over the evil, and so he does with Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) as his trusted aides.

The movie is full of face-offs between the the Joker and the Batman. Like when joker crashes into the party and declares to the scared gathering, "Ladies and Gentlemen! We are the entertainers tonight." And in the prison cell where the Joker teases and plays with Batman.

Rock solid direction from Nolan...not even a moment is dull...absolutely riveting stuff. Christian Bale also delivers a good performance with Maggie Gyllenhall delivering goods in a supporting role. Morgan Freeman and Michale Caine are of course legends and do not disappoint. But in the end, it's the Joker root for. Too sad, Ledger has left...but this is the best parting gift any actor worth his salt could give.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Endless Adventure, Unlimited Fun

Duration: 1hr 50 minutes

Genre: Action-Adventure

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia Labeouf, John Hurt

At the outset, I'll put my hand up and say that I have not seen any of the three products of the famous Indian Jones franchisee...so no preconceived notions and no scope for bias for a childhood favorite flick, which would be the case with many a reviews of this movie.

So what do we have here...well, just imagine how much fun can a movie be, and you have got Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) caught right in the middle of a nuclear explosion, swordfight atop the army jeeps driving at the breakneck speed through the amazons, the crew caught in the monstrous waterfalls, giant contraptions and mazes...edge of the stuff all through. Spielberg delivers the way only he can.

The movie begins with Indi (Indiana Jones) caught by Russians, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) who have control over a strategic location in Nevada. A thrilling escape by Indi, not just from the Russians but a nuclear explosion, which incinerates everything (discover how he escapes that). Indi is asked to leave his job as Professor of Archeology due to FBI investigations being carried out about him. Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf), the knife-happy street junkie catches Indi and tells him that his old colleague, Oxley (John Hurt) disappeared after discovering a crystal skull. That brings Indi to Peru to solve the crystal maze. Fighting tribals jumping out of caves, escaping quick sand using a snake as rope, caught by the human devoring red ants, Indi and crew discover the crystal skull and finally bring to the place it belongs to, only to discover the secret shrouded behind the legends and mythology of the place.

The movie packs more than a punch, with brilliant performances from everyone. Harrison Ford is still charming at 65 and oozes that rugged style, which makes him the perfect choice for the role. Cate Blanchett is the perfect Russian General (yeah...she gets her R's and T's right). Shia plays the perfect foil to Indi. Amidst all the adventure, Mutt also discovers that Indi is his real father, what with the romantic undercurrents still strong between his mother and Indi. And yes, he does participate in his mother and father's marriage in the end.

So, my advice to you movie buffs is ....IPL can take a back seat. Grab your pop corns and enjoy to hilt.Publish Post