Batman Forever (1995)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Crime

Starring: Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough

Gotham cities dark knight is back. And when he is back, he is back with a bang. Bruce Wayne aka The Batman (Kilmer) has not one, but two enemies to fight against. Harvey Dent aka Harvey Two-Face (Lee Jones) was previously the district attorney who faced an acid attack that disfigured half of his face for good. He blames The Batman for this and seeks revenge. Dr. Edward Nygma (Carrey) is a scientist who works at Wayne Enterprises who has developed a unique device that can project television images right inside the persons head. Bruce rejects the idea which hurts Nygma's sentiments and he vows to take revenge as The Riddler. Dr. Chase Meridian (Kidman) becomes Batman's love interest and she also finds herself falling for Bruce Wayne, not knowing they both are the same. On one eventful evening at the circus, an acrobat loses his family when Harvey Dent stages an attack. The acrobat, Dick Grayson (O'Donnell) is adopted into Wayne manor and slowly starts blending into Bruce's life. The third installment of the Batman series of movies sees a change of guard at the helm. Val Kilmer being the new Batman, is similarly composed and relaxed as Bruce Wayne but aggressive and tough as The Batman. He fulfills the character far better and seems more suited for the role. Nicole Kidman looks ravishing and she reminds us all of what a magnificent beauty she was in her hay-days. The movie is a decent all round entertainer which has the occasional sprinkling of thrill and excitement. The only biggest let down is the climax, which seemed far too sudden with Dent and Riddler not putting up any fight at all. Maybe something more extended and exciting would have helped in ending the movie at a higher note.

Thumbs up: Great all round entertainer

Thumbs down: Sudden and uninteresting climax

Rating: 7.3/10

The Holiday (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Rugus Sewell

When two emotionally broken women want to run away from their current lives, the find respite in each other and in the other persons life. Amanda Woods (Diaz) is a movie marketer based in L.A whose boyfriend is caught cheating on her with his secretary. Fed up of her life and her routine, she wants to run away to someplace quiet and serene. Iris Simpkins (Winslet) is a journalist based in London who is deeply in love with her colleague Jasper Bloom (Sewell). Jasper too keeps expressing his love for her, but at the same time gets engaged to someone else, leaving Iris heartbroken. When Amanda contacts Iris to swap houses and lives for 2 weeks, the two women never realise what is in store for them. Amanda falls in love with Iris' brother, Graham (Law) in spite of trying very hard not to. Iris falls in love with Amanda's friend, Miles (Black) and befriends her neighbour, a movie veteran, Arthur Abbott (Wallach). There is a feel-good feeling to this movie and you would be quite happy once it is done. The good thing about the movie is it projects the two lives as actually being two separate lives and not something where a particular situation occurs at both ends. Taking an example, Iris' love comes to meet her but that is not the case for Amanda. Iris befriends a neighbour but Amanda doesn't. The individuals have their identity of their own and are only stringed together by emotions. A good movie worth at least one watch.

Thumbs up: A nice feel-good movie

Thumbs down: Could have had some more humour or some more intense romance

Rating: 7.0/10

Liar Liar (1997)

 Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy

Starring: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwin, Jennifer Tilly

Jim Carrey and his ridiculously stupid antics are always sure to make you laugh. One can never go wrong with any of his movies. Fletcher Reede (Carrey) is a high-profile lawyer and is a divorced man. His son, Max (Cooper) is very fond of his father just as Fletcher is fond of him. Fletcher is too tied up with work and with other priorities to give enough time to his son. Time and again he has made promises that he was never able to fulfill. When Fletcher fails to turn up for Max's birthday, Max makes a birthday wish that his father could never be able to lie just for one day. Fletcher has got a new high-profile client in a divorce case and realises that he needs to lie to win the case. With the case on his head and the wish coming true, Fletcher realises that he is in for a very bad day. Slap-stick stupidity can only be carried off by Jim Carrey in a hilarious manner. He is the love it or hate it kinds and there is no third way about him. The extra-zealous acting and the over-enthusiastic performances are all part of the larger package. The movie is just something to watch, laugh and then forget about it.

Thumbs up: Jim Carrey comedy at its best

Thumbs down: Maybe a more innovative plot line could help

Rating: 6.5/10

Django Unchained (2012)

Genre: Crime/Adventure/Action/Drama/Western

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo Di Caprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

With a star cast like that and with Quentin Tarantino behind the camera, its fair enough to expect some fireworks. Set in 1858 when slavery was rampant across the United States, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) encounters a group of slavers, from whom he 'purchases' Django (Foxx) and sets him free. Django has been separated from his wife, Broomhilda (Washington) and he has no idea about where she could be. Dr. Schultz reveals that he is indeed a bounty hunter and needs Django's help to hunt for a prized bounty. In return for helping Dr. Schultz through the winter, Django is promised help in locating his wife. Calvin Candie (Di Caprio) is an eccentric millionaire whose favourite pass time is to watch two black men fight till one of them dies. Broomhilda was traced to be a slave of Candie and Schultz and Django hatch a plot to rescue her from there. Tarantino has a typical style to him movie-making and this movie reeks of it. The splashes of subtle humour, the gruesome action and the gripping intense scenes, this movie has it all. Christoph Waltz has played a very similar role to that of Inglorious Basterds but I am not complaining. Di Caprio has put on a fine performance but Jamie Foxx was a tad too composed and withdrawn. The movie is a decent entertainer but lacked the outright fireworks or the intensity to keep you at the edge of your seat. Is not as good as Inglorious and far off from Pulp Fiction.

Thumbs up: Fabulous acting from Di Caprio and Waltz

Thumbs down: Not as intense or gripping as it should be

Rating: 7.7/10

The Last Legion (2007)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Historical Event/War

Starring: Collin Firth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Movies on famous historical heroes and kings is no new concept. But doing the bold move of mixing various stories with a splash of fiction to create something entirely new is certainly unique. Romulus Agustulus (Brodie-Sangster) is one of the few princes of Rome through which the blood of Julius Caesar still runs. The sword of Julius Caesar is a closely guarded secret whose knowledge very few people are aware of. Ambrosinus (Kingsley) is one such person who guards this secret and whose true identity is unknown to people. Soon after Romulus' coronation as the Prince of Rome, the Goths attack his palace and kill Romulus' father and mother and kidnap the Prince. Aurelius (Firth) is the commander who is designated to protect Romulus at any cost. Upon the kidnapping of Romulus, Aurelius assembles a force of soldiers that survived the attack to hunt down the Goths and rescue Romulus. Mira (Rai Bachchan) a stealth attacker from the East, is sent by one of Rome's allies to assist in this mission. Like I mentioned earlier, one who is vaguely familiar with Roman history would immediately recognize the mixture of various legendary stories that are rolled into one. A very average movie who although has a very strong cast, fails to impress.

Thumbs up: Decent entertaining action

Thumbs down: Not exceptional in any area

Rating: 5.4/10

Gamer (2009)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Crime

Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Logan Lerman, Kyra Sedgwick

When computer gaming starts becoming more and more life-like, what happens next? Taking realism to the next level, Ken Castle (Hall) is a multi-millionaire who developed a realistic game known as 'Society' where users can create real humans. Humans are administered Nanex, a cell which takes over the brain and makes in into a robot that accepts commands from another user elsewhere. An extension of this concept is 'Slayer' a game where convicts can fight in real battle in a bid to gain freedom. John Tillman aka Kable (Butler) is Slayer's most accomplished player and is controlled by a young boy, Simon (Lerman). Castle's program has taken over the world and at the pace at which it is growing, the entire world would come under his command. Kable, meanwhile, has a story in the past and has some scores to settle for which he is desperate to get out. If it is a god action movie your looking for which has a sensible story to narrate, then this movie would do. It is a pretty good watch all except the last 20 minutes. The ending is horrible, uneventful and quite bland. It seemed as if everyone was in a hurry to pack it up and did a quick fix end to thing. Had they given a little bit of thought in making the climax more interesting, the movie could be a decent entertainer.

Thumbs up: Good action, unique story

Thumbs down: Boring end

Rating: 6.6/10