G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra by Stephen Sommers

Category: English

I enjoyed this film, growing up playing with the figures and watching the animation, the movie was a let down in places but not completely.

This film tracks down the origins of Cobra and establishes a lot of the characters and their motivations (albeit superficially). Even still, some of the characters manage to stay with you even after the film is over. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is definitely one of the characters to watch out for. Christopher Eccleston is pretty formidable as Destro.

Well it's still not the best cinema you're going to encounter and as such is pretty mindless in places including the famous chase sequence in Paris. Sienna Miller is put to good use as is Rachel Nichols.

Recommendation level: 1/5 - Christmas cheer! But very crappy in places, if you like G.I. Joe then it should be a 5/5.

Unleashed by Louis Leterrier

Category: English

Probably one of the Jet Li's under appreciated roles and movies in general. Bob Hoskins captures Jet Li when he's a kid and trains him to be a living weapon, trained only to kill and basically everything non-human almost like a "dog". When his collar is removed, Danny goes on a mindless killing spree. Eventually the dog escapes and his helped by a blind musician portrayed by Morgan Freeman.

Bob Hoskins wants the dog back and bla bla!

The movie doesn't deal with any great themes barring some references to classical music. It's written by Luc Besson, and one wonders why does that even matter when the film is obviously not so well crafted.

Recommendation level: 2/5 - Just for Jet Li & Massive Attack's soundtrack! If you like action films and Jet Li then this would be a 5/5 for you.

Avatar by James Cameron

Category: English

By the time you read this, most of you will have already seen Avatar. You must be in awe and possibly even looking forward to a ton of new movies based on the ingenious film-making concepts executed in this film.

The story is crap, but you know this, the themes are complete rubbish either - there's no deeper meaning in this film. If you're here to even consider that a simple dialogue of Stephen Lang's character about "waging a war on terror" be a shot at America's own war on terror then you're even more stupid than the people who just watched the film for the pretty blue colors.

Avatar's dealing of the issue of aliens and the proverbial "who's side are you on?" raised once again by Lang's character at the end is also pretty weak. District 9 speaks volumes of such issues on the deepest level till date. Avatar is just very revolutionary, just like that first film made by the Lumière brothers where people ran out of the cinema hall thinking the train was coming towards them. It's going to be remembered, make no mistake about it but does it have any aesthetic and artistic value? I'll leave that to you to decide.

The histrionics aren't that superb either, their passable, Stephen Lang had me cheering for him in the end. Now that's a fucking G.I. Joe.

Recommendation level: 3/5 - Path breaking, but everyone's too quick to judge the story, I think even Cameron made peace with himself about that before he made something like this. For me, I am not sure how much we should be relying on technology to interfere with our art form, we're already so distant from reality, do we need more distance?

Paa by R. Balki

Category: Hindi

My first Hindi movie in a while and how about it! While the melodrama got to my brain after a point and the ridiculous situations executed by the director and of course the pathetic acting by almost everyone in this film is only redeemed by the half decent performance put in by Amitabh Bachchan thanks to help from the make up artist.

While there are some genuine moments in the film that can tug on your heart much like Elephant Man by Lynch (in many parts, am not sure how many of you picked it up but he sounds a lot like Merrick portrayed by John Hurt. The film is pretty straight up, Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan have a passionate affair in which Amitabh Bachchan's character is conceived.

After more than a decade of hiccups, Amitabh Bachchan finds his way to the successful MP's (Abhishek) line of sight.

Everything else is predictable after it and there's nothing special beyond a point. This film has some moments which include the explanation provided for the name "Auro" and err... some decent close ups and nothing else.

Recommendation level: 1/5 - Kinda sucked after a point, saw this in a cinema hall.

Pineapple Express by David Gordon Green

Category: English

My reviews will continue to get more and more erratic this month as I try to find time since it's Christmas!

A stoner movie starring Seth Rogen wasn't something I was looking forward to but thanks to his superior supporting cast (James Franco of Harry Osborne fame in Spiderman, Danny McBride, Gary Cole) the film is actually watchable. So the movie has Seth Rogen as a process server and on one of his errands while smoking the wonderful Pineapple Express he ends up witnessing a murder and he immediately runs to his peddler (Franco). Little did all of us know that Gary Cole is a mob boss now out for Rogen's blood. He deploys two hitmen, one of them portrayed by Kevin Corrigan.

On the way running from the mob there's tons of faces they come across, they even pick up a 3rd member towards the end (McBride who refuses to die from gunshot wounds). The film oddly enough gets a little serious and violent towards the end and I couldn't figure out why. None the less this isn't the best cinema you can watch, but it's alright to watch it with friends.

Recommendation level: 2/5 - Purely because of Franco and the supporting cast.

In the Loop by Armando Iannucci

Category: English

A spinoff from the popular BBC TV series - The Thick of It, In The Loop is probably one of the best political satires to have come out in recent months and it definitely doesn't let down. Sinking it's teeth into the juicy flesh of British politics right from the start we're introduced to Peter Capaldi's character Malcolm Tucker who is somewhat of a spin doctor for the British PM and the government. Soon we find out that a cabinet minister, Tom Hollander's character has shot his mouth off about a possible outbreak of war in the middle-east.

What follows is an escalating set of events that while spirals out of control is completely manipulated by the ferocious Malcolm Tucker and later on his assistant.

This is the kind of movie that you have to watch with the right kind of people to get the references and of course the amazing humour that makes this really high class. Making it a must watch comedy for any young mind. There are stereotypes and there are unconventional characters, there's also James Gandolfini as a U.S. General. Do watch it if you have the time and take a look at how events are controlled by the Government right to the final dot.

Recommendation level: 3.5/5 - A MUST WATCH! Got this from a friend. Watch out for Peter Capaldi's character, you might just fall in love!

The Fifth Element by Luc Besson

Category: English

While I found this movie extremely crappy the first time I saw it, I must say even after more than 10 years the movie doesn't seem as bad as I thought it was years ago.

The plot is simple, Milla Jovovich's character is the fifth element sent to save the world from a probable catastrophe. She lands into Bruce Willis' taxi (he's a taxi driver) and they set out to save the world along with Sir Ian Holm. There's also a wealthy industrialist, Gary Oldman who is out to claim the ultimate power to himself.

There aren't too many positives about this film, the sub standard acting or the wafer thin plot doesn't give this film a lot of ability to expand on itself. Still if you're completely bored then go ahead and watch this film. Everything is pretty main stream - so what does that mean? Right from the dialogues to the production values to the future they portray... Everything is very much the way Hollywood has been looking towards the future.

There's some experimentation done with the film used in this movie, but I couldn't be bothered, also Luc Besson and everyone else involved has done better cinema than this.

Recommendation level: 2/5 - Saw this on TV.

Layer Cake by Matthew Vaughn

Category: English

erm, if you've seen any of the Guy Ritchie films (read the trilogy I reviewed a few weeks back) then this one isn't that different from them. Yeah, pretty insulting but it's really true, this one however lacks and benefits from certain factors.

It lacks Guy Ritchie but it benefits from Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller!

The plot is simple at the start with Daniel Craig playing XXXX who deals heavily in cocaine and decides to eventually quit the business until everything turns upside down and inside out. There's betrayal and most of the characters who come on screen have their own agendas which they are interested in executing - no matter what the price.

I am not really sure how much I liked this film, but I think it's just about average in places.

Recommendation level: 2/5. Got this from a friend.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg

Category: English

I didn't think it would take something like 2 directors to make a film like this. Considering how simple stoner movies are and how only in particular places do they go over the top (Read: NPH getting his guts blown out). So of course in the sequel to the famous Harold & Kumar Go to WhiteCastle, is no different than the original which had the main characters riding a cheetah under the influence of marijuana.

The sequel takes off almost immediately with the guys deciding to head to Amsterdam - except that they don't. What follows is adventure to get back to America after a stop over at Guantanamo Bay. They encounter old friends, new allies and of course the dire need to find the women they are madly in love with. The sappy part which pretty much drains a good stoner film of its essence. Apparently this film was more successful - financially. There's also the crazy American authorities who create some funny moments during the interrogation sequences.

There's more of NPH this time around and of course there's more weed and crazier situations. It's worth a watch if you have nothing to do on a Saturday evening, if you have some friends over feel free to watch it with them.

Recommendation level: 2/5 - I liked the original better, got this one from a friend. It's the second time that I've seen it though so it has some mild repetitive value.

Control by Anton Corbijn

Category: English

Control is a biopic based on Joy Divisions' lead singer Ian Curtis. His tragic life and his brilliance is captured by Corbijn, right from the first frame that we're introduced to Curtis' character there's an odd sense of tragedy coming, there's a sense of brilliance in the way he looks at the butterfly sticker and recites Wordsworth. That's what we're talking about.

The film - shot completely in black and white follows Ian Curtis from his high school days and eventual rise to fame, the band grows stronger and stronger and eventually so the workload also increases and eventually after having an early marriage he's caught between finding himself attracted to others. He does pursue that and for a long time seems almost unable to decide between his wife Deborah or Annika. Eventually there are several factors that start taking a toll on his mental health.

The music and the situations created around this film are pretty impressive, if you are a Joy Division fan then you must watch this movie because you'd be able to connect with the songs and the situations better. Even Curtis' poetry compels you to watch and take part in his journey, it's the only time a vocal narrative is introduced in the film and his words capture the film and moments so strongly.

As I mentioned earlier, if you are a fan of Joy Division this is a must watch, if you aren't then it's a must watch too because of their music and Ian Curtis. The leads are all powerful - Sam Riley and Samantha Morton are so strong in their roles as the loving young couple gone awry. There's also the supporting cast which is prominent too.

Recommendation level: 3/5 - Got this from a friend and definitely one of the better movies to watch.