The Waterboy (1998)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Sports

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, Henry Winkler

Robert 'Bobby' Boucher Jr. (Sandler) is probably the most simple, grounded and innocent individual you would ever find. Not just that, he is also extremely immature, dim-witted and slow which makes him the butt of all jokes wherever he goes and is ignored by the entire world. Bobby's behaviour is much to be blamed because of his 'Momma' (Bates) who treats him like a child, does not offer him any liberty, and expects him to be around for her every time. Bobby works as a Waterboy for the local football team and is often tormented by the players. With the coach siding with the players, one day, Bobby gets fired for no fault of his own. Having nothing else to live for, Bobby desperately tries to find a replacement and lands up working for a rival team under Coach Klein (Winkler). Klein has been on a losing streak and has failed to ever win a game with his team, although he was once a celebrated coach who soon lost his touch. The constant leg-pulling that Bobby experiences finally crosses the line when he aggressively tackles a player out of frustration and Coach Klein makes him a part of the team. The movie is a very typical Adam Sandler comedy and is made for pure entertainment. Do not try to criticise the plot, the acting or anything else apart from Sandler's humour. The movie is one of Sandlers all time classic comedies that is sure to make you laugh on multiple occasions and it is a movie you can never go wrong with.

Thumbs up: Adam Sandler and his humour

Thumbs down: Purely for a one-watch entertainer and nothing more

Rating: 6.3/10

Stealth (2005)

Genre: Action/War/Science-fiction

Starring: Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Sam Shephard

In order to combat the increasing threat from terrorist activities, the US Navy is developing new technologies of fast, efficient and high-impact air combat vehicles for which it needs pilots specifically trained and capable of carrying this task. Off the 400 applicants, only three were selected. Lt. Ben Gannon (Lucas) also the squad leader, Lt. Cara Wade (Biel) and Lt. Henry Purcell (Foxx) all of whom directly report to Capt. George Cummings (Shephard) the man responsible for this program. The trio are extremely successful in all their missions and all seems to be going well when a new fourth member is introduced. EDI is an unmanned air combat vehicle that is capable of accepting and fulfilling missions without any human interaction. It is aimed to reduce fatalities and increase effectiveness during air strikes. EDI is run by a computer that keeps learning and understanding from it's surroundings and fellow squad members and it's environment starts teaching it to over-ride commands and orders and subsequently indulge in missions that it wasn't authorised to be carrying out. If there ever was a movie that defines cliche, this is it. With so many 'been-there-done-that' moments, the movie is a complete failure in the name of innovation. The predictable computer over-riding human commands and going rogue, three best friends that are living the good life and are inseparable, the US Military and it's cowboy style of behaviour and the usual patriotic arrogance of the USA, this movie has all of these filled to the brim. Yes, the movie has tons of aerial action, things blowing up and lots of adrenaline rushing moments but that does not mean it is a good movie. It might be a good way to waste some time without getting bored but if you are looking for anything that would make you sit up and take notice, this one has none.

Thumbs up: Decent action

Thumbs down: A movie filled with cliches

Rating: 5.6/10

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Vince Vaughn

News reporting has often been criticised as being living off sensationalism, not reporting the correct news and being more of marketing rather than news reporting. Taking a jibe at the 1970's style of news reporting, Anchorman is an all-out comedy filled with Will Ferrell and his idiotic humour. Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is a celebrated TV news anchorman of a local San Diego news station. He is supported by Brian Fantana (Rudd), the stylish and sex-hungry field reporter, Brick Tamland (Carell), the weatherman with an IQ of 48, and Champion Kind (Koechner), the sports reporter. Their show garners the highest ratings in the city, they are loved by all of its citizens and the group seems unbreakable. Ron is eccentric, proud, dim-witted and is in love with himself. He loves the fact that everyone loves him, hopelessly enjoys all the attention he gets. Everything seems to change suddenly when Veronica Corningstone (Applegate) appears in his life. It was love at first sight, an emotion he has never experienced and fails to understand. A romance soon sparks between the duo but when Veronica steps in to fill Ron's seat when he is late for a broadcast, world war III erupts. Nobody, replaces Ron Burgundy ever. The movie is a laugh-out-loud slapstick piece of entertainment. It may not be extremely funny but is still quite entertaining. Many comedy movies can fall flat on their faces if it fails to arouse the audience but Anchorman gets it bang on. With an ensemble of famous comedy actors, you cant really go wrong with this movie.

Thumbs up: Good acting and humour

Thumbs down: Not the best comedy though

Rating: 6.9/10

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Genre: Drama/Adventure/Crime

Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen

Our society has always shunned women, looked upon them as objects of desire and never given them a status of equality or responsibility. Two such friends, Thelma (Davis) and Louise (Sarandon) decide to go on a road trip to get away from their lives and enjoy some time together as friends. Thelma has a controlling husband who never allows her any freedom and constantly keeps her crushed under his authority. She is tired of her life and Louise offers her some respite via a two-day weekend getaway. With everything taken care of, the duo decide to head out and enjoy their vacation as much as possible but things go out of hand soon after. Their road trip quickly escalates into a nightmare and somehow Thelma and Louise find themselves becoming the kind of people they never thought that they would become. A brilliant movie that showcases feminism at it's best, the rapid escalation of something as simple as a vacation into a tragedy, the constant shift in the nature of the characters but yet keeping the entire movie composed and not letting it go rogue. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis look like they were best friends since birth and seem like natural friends and get along hopelessly well in the movie. When it kicks off, the movie appears to be slow and maybe even borderline boring but when the escalation starts, that is when you find yourself unable to take your eyes off the screen. Directed by Ridley Scott, this movie has won numerous accolades world over and continues to be a landmark movie to highlight women empowerment. A great entertainer if you ignore the first half an hour.

Thumbs up: Great performances

Thumbs down: A bit slow to take off

Rating: 7.2/10

Sideways (2004)

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh

When two friends in their forties decide to tour Santa Barbara and visit various vineyards and enjoy the wine. Miles (Giamatti) is an English teacher, aspiring writer who hasn't been able to do anything big, divorced, hasn't been able to get over his ex-wife, depressed and a wine aficionado. Jack (Church) is a small-time actor whose career boasts of a supporting role in a TV soap and is now voice-over artists who is about to get married. Miles is an introvert who wants to spend the trip tasting wine, driving around, playing golf and relaxing. Jack, on the other hand, is more interested in having one last sexual fling before he gets married and this constantly leads to disagreements between the two friends on what they should be doing. Maya (Madsen) is a waitress in a popular restaurant that Miles frequents, and after being pushed by Jack, is forced to make a move on her. Jack, meanwhile, gets associated with Stephanie (Oh) who works at a winery and the duo have a healthy sexual encounter. The movie brings out the relationship between the two friends, their differences, similarities, disagreements and agreements. They fight and hate each other but yet stand by each other during tough times. The movie is not for everyone and comprises of subtle urban humour and takes it's own pace in moving onwards. The performances are splendid and the movie has won many accolades at various awards functions due to this. A decent one-time watch movie provided you can live with the slow plot.

Thumbs up: Fabulous performances

Thumbs down: A bit slow to move on

Rating: 7.1/10

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)

.Genre: Crime/Action/Drama

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Xzibit, Tom Bower, Jennifer Coolidge, Val Kilmer

A New Orleans police sergeant rescues a prisoner when hurricane Katrina hit the city and the prison cells were fast filling with water. Terence McDonagh (Cage) was later promoted to Lieutenant for his act of bravery but also caused permanent damage to his spine whilst rescuing the prisoner. After having to go on life-long painkillers, Terence starts becoming a drug addict and a regular consumer of cocaine, crack and marijuana. His dope comes from a hooker, Frankie (Mendes) who is also his girlfriend and he is extremely protective of her. When five illegal immigrants from Senegal are executed, Terence is assigned to the case and find out who did the fateful murder. With Terence increasingly using his power to obtain drugs and bully people, he falls into more and more trouble which slowly starts interfering with his personal as well as professional life. The movie might come across as just another cop story, which it is, but it still has the edge that makes it different from the rest. A doped-up, corrupt and disrespectful cop whose life is in a mess and gets even more messier can make a decent storyline. The biggest let down in the movie was Nicholas Cage and his style of acting. He just seemed to take too much screen presence and after a point becomes difficult to watch. Although he does add the limp and hunchback, it seems to be inconsistent in appearance. The movie borrows its title from a 1992 film, although the makers of the movie do not classify it as a sequel or a re-make but a 're-thought' of how they think the movie should have been. Not a movie to be proud of but a decent cop story to watch, but only once.

Thumbs up: A bit different from the rest

Thumbs down: Nicholas Cage's extra screen presence

Rating: 6.0/10

Ladri di biciclette (1948)

Genre: Drama/Adventure

Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carrell

English title: Bicycle Thieves. In the lives of simple folk, there is often a single object that plays a very crucial role for the individual to carry out their daily activities.Without that object, one is handicapped and is unable to carry out his duties. For Antonio Ricci, that element was a bicycle which was essential for him to carry out his job as a poster boy. After being unemployed for a long time, Antonio finally managed to get this job, provided he have a bicycle. After pawning some family bedsheets, Antonio manages to get himself a bicycle for his first day of work. Unfortunately, the cycle gets stolen on his very first day and a distraught Antonio does not know what to do. With help from friends, his son Bruno (Staiola) and some confidence from his wife, Maria (Carrell), Antonio sets out to finding his bicycle the next day. Most of the movie involves Antonio's hunt for his bicycle and the adventures that come along with it. The movie is the critics' delight and is an example of how early cinema can have a contemporary treatment. Every aspect of this movie has a touch of finesse and it would be hard to find anything technically incorrect about it. Possibly the only drawback of the movie is the simple story that does not lead to an exceptional climax. If you seek entertainment then perhaps this movie may not be able to deliver but if you seek to watch a fine movie from the days of early cinema, then this movie will certainly fit the bill.

Thumbs up: An example of good movie-making from the older days

Thumbs down: Simple story that lacks an interesting climax

Rating: 7.3/10

Finding Fanny (2014)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Kapoor

In Pocolim, a lazy town of Goa, India, time is an element that no one counts or cares about. Life is slow, easy and modern day problems do not haunt the residents of this village. One night, Ferdinand (Shah) a retired postman receives a letter returned to back to him, a letter that he had written to his lover 46 years ago and asking for her hand in marriage. He was always under the impression that Stephanie Fernandes aka Fanny was never really interested in him but is now distraught after knowing that his love for her never actually reached her to begin with. Angie (Padukone) takes pity on him and convinces him that they should go look for her so that he may confess her love for her. One thing leads to another and ultimately the road trip witnesses more passengers than expected. Don Pedro (Kapur), a celebrated artist seeking the right inspiration; Rosie (Kapadia) an old lady who has self-proclaimed herself as the 'lady' of Pocolim, Savio (Kapoor) a young man who has recently returned after making it big in Mumbai and Rosie's cat. The five odd-balls each have their own personal problems to deal with and this trip is not just about finding Fanny but discovering far more than what they expected they would. This movie is a classic example of something that was exceptionally over-hyped and failed to deliver or a movie whose trailer was more enjoyable to watch than the actual movie in itself. The movie does have some humour, albeit a bit urban and dark, that does the job of making you laugh. The movie in itself does not seem to have any character or objective and seems a little 'unrestrained'. The story foundation movies too fast, the climax is a complete letdown and some scenes just don't make sense and even if they do, it is far too profound for the average audience to understand and appreciate. A good entertainer that will give you a few laughs but if the movie had a more solid story, then this review would have been completely different.

Thumbs up: Good humour and cast

Thumbs down: Weak story

Rating: 6.5/10

Rogue Assassin (2007)

Genre: Action/Crime/Mystery

Starring: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Devon Aoki, John Lone, Ryo Ishibashi

Whenever you see Jason Statham's name in the star cast for any movie, you know exactly what you are in for. A mind-less action movie with inhuman stunts and lots of things blowing up everywhere, pretty much. Crawford (Statham) is an FBI agent who is hunting down a mysterious assassin by the name of Rogue (Li) who was a former CIA agent and now works for the Japanese Yakuza. Rogue hunts down Crawford's partner and kills him along with his family and goes into hiding ever since. For three years Rogue has not made an appearance, and when he does it is for the Chinese Triads. Most of the movie is a cock and bull chase between Crawford and Rogue with some action sequences thrown in here and there. This could have actually been a very interesting movie had not the climax become too obvious halfway through. After that, the movie seemed far too overtly obvious and was trying too hard to look contemporary and amazing but ended up being another run-off-the-mill action movie. It is a decent entertainer for those action-loving fans but if you are looking for a story, then you wouldn't find anything sensible here.

Thumbs up: Some action sequences were not too bad

Thumbs down: Climax becomes quite obvious after a while and is not very innovative either

Rating: 5.8/10

 

Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993)

Genre: Comedy/Adventure/Drama/Musical

Starring: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yashbeck, Dave Chappelle, Mark Blankfield, Eric Allan Kramer, Matthew Porretta

The legendary tale of Robin Hood has often been narrated by many, in book and in movies. Mel Brooks version of the mythical hero gives things a slightly different edge. Robin (Elwes) has escaped from Jerusalem and is swimming back all the way to England. Robin learns that Prince John (Lewis) has assumed power in England ever since King Richard, his elder brother, has been away at war. John has also seized Robin Hood's ancestral property of Loxley Hall and has left behind the families blind servant, Blinkin (Blankfield). In a bid to get his property back and to stand up against John's abuse of power, Robin decides to oust John from the throne and restore order. That was the more serious bit about the movie and here is the not-so-serious bit. Maid Marian has an Everlast branded chastity belt whose key Robin must obtain to make love to her. There is a Sheriff of Rottingham (Rees) (instead of Nottingham) a witch by the name of Latrine and Robin's sidekick whose name is Achchoo (Chappelle) son of Asneeze. The movie takes pot shots at the Robin Hood story as a whole and other movies which have centered around him. Although on the face of it the movie might seem corny and not quite hilarious, it actually is if you give it some time. There are constant modern day references and a complete disregard for the story simply to make the movie more interesting and funny. It is a decent comedy entertainer that probably won't throw you out of your seats but can still be funny at times.

Thumbs up: Good light-hearted comedy

Thumbs down: Not LOL funny

Rating: 6.6/10

Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Chyler Leigh, Chris Evans, Jaime Pressly, Eric Christian Olsen, Mia Kirshner, Deon Richmond, Eric Jungmann, Cody McMains, Sam Huntington, Samm Levine, Ron Lester

Teenage comedy and romance movies are out there by the dozen. And more often than not, they usually feature around similar story lines. Jake Wyler (Evans) is the school hot shot with almost all the girls desiring him. A self-obsessed person, he believes he can have any girl he wants and can make anyone become prom queen. His friend, Austin (Olsen) decides to challenge Jake into this by making him date the ugliest girl in school and make her prom queen. Enter, Janey Briggs (Leigh), a geeky, bespectacled girl who has absolutely no fashion sense and whose father is far too busy getting drunk than bother about her life. Jake's sister, Catherine (Kirshner) is sexually attracted to Jake and promises to help him court Janey if she can get to spend a night with him in return. The movie spoofs on teen rom-com movies and highlights the typical stereotypes seen in almost all the movies. The sexually desperate teenage brother of the lead actor, the token black guy in the movie who is there to avoid racial discrimination debates, the uber-sexy foreign exchange student, the hard-hitting football coach and many others. Although the movie correctly picks on all the stereotypes and pokes fun at it, it is unable to make any impact on the movie without prior relevance to the movie being referred to. Most of the movies picked are lesser known ones and hence the audience might find it a tad difficult to relate to the jokes. There are moments of humour, unlike every other spoof movie, but not enough to make this a roll over the floor kind of comedy.

Thumbs up: Good references, some funny moments

Thumbs down: Audience needs familiarity with the movies being portrayed

Rating: 6.2/10

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Adventure

Starring: Same Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan

The dinosaurs are back once more in this third installment. Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) has become a famous individual after his visit to Jurassic Park but vows never to return to the island, ever. Paul Kirby (Macy) a wealthy businessman and his wife Amanda (Leoni) wish to do something special on their anniversary. Being a couple who enjoy the outdoors, they wish to visit Isla Sorna and get a view of the dinosaurs up-close. With the island being out of bounds, the Kirby's secure permission to fly over the island without landing and wish that Dr. Grant be their tour guide on the mission. When the Kirby's promise a handsome donation towards Dr. Grants research and the assurance of not landing on the island, he reluctantly agrees. All of the Jurassic Park movies have more or less focused on a group of individuals getting trapped on the island and ultimately finding a way out, with this movie being no better. At least the previous ones had some form of a story to narrate that made it remotely interesting, but this one does not. This movie is filled with moments of 'been there, done that' and lacks any kind of innovation or uniqueness. For someone who is watching this movie without watching the earlier ones might find it a bit more interesting, but for anybody else it just isn't. Even the same old bunch of dinosaurs are seen once more with only two exceptions. A Spinosaurus replacing the T-Rex as the primary dinosaur and a special focus on Pteranodon's is the only innovation the movie has come up with. The Velociraptor's are present yet again and so are a bunch of dinosaurs that were seen in the previous movies. It is a movie that you can multi-task with and not lose too much of the plot and wouldn't make you feel bored at any point. It has enough to keep your attention but that is never enough to make any movie a good movie. A disappointment for the series but that usually does happen when you're trying to make a 'trilogy'; the third one is the worst.

Thumbs up: Great special effects

Thumbs down: Nothing unique or different form the previous movies

Rating: 5.8/10

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Drama/Action

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro,Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollack, Peter Postlethwaite

Making a good murder mystery is easy and difficult. The formula for it is quite simple, a nice crooked story and an ending that would blow your mind away. It is the execution that makes this genre a hit or a miss. Roger 'Verbal' Kint (Spacey) gets pulled up by the police after being found as one of the two only survivors post a massive shootout on a ship. The other individual being a Hungarian who can't speak English, Verbal is made to spill the beans on what happened. After Verbal does not reveal any significant information and being backed by powerful individuals, U.S Customs Special Agent Dave Kujan (Palminteri) insists on interrogating him and promises to make him talk. Verbal explains how it all began in New York when the police rounded up Dean Keaton (Byrne), a corrupt former police officer, Michael McManus (Baldwin), a professional thief, Fred Fenster (del Toro), McManus' partner, Todd Hockney (Pollack) a hijacker and Verbal himself for a stolen gun shipment from a truck. The five became accomplices and decide to get even with the cops and also accept jobs from one of McManus' accomplice. One thing leads to the other but there is just one question on every ones mind. Who is Keyser Soze, where is he, what does he look like and what does he do? The movie is an example of a movie being brilliant, simple but yet not too overtly simplified. It's not the kind of movie that you would get lost or distracted too easily, it is light and gripping but at the same time requires you to concentrate and pay attention to every detail. This movie has to go down as one of the best murder mysteries ever and no matter what your movie preference is, you can never go wrong with this one.

Thumbs up: A good twisted tale with a stunning climax

Thumbs down: Maybe some dark Quentin Tarantino comedy would've been the icing on the cake

Rating: 8.9/10

Crimson Tide (1995)

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Matt Craven, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Rocky Carroll

The United States and Russia have had a historical standoff and Hollywood movies have always made the Russians as their evil counterparts who are trying to destroy the world. Post the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union, a Russian revolutionist has taken control of Russian nuclear missiles and threatens to fire them if either the Russian or American government tries to confront him. A US submarine, USS Alabama has been ordered to remain on standby in the Pacific and in case of escalation, to fire a nuclear warhead at Russia. Captain Frank Ramsey (Hackman) is a Navy veteran and a staunch nationalist. His ideologies being that anyone who stands in front of America and denies the people their freedom, must be crushed. Lt. Commander Ron Hunter (Washington) is the designated Executive Officer of the submarine and has a different way of putting things. He believes that war itself is wrong and a peaceful compromise is always possible and the military is only in force in dire consequences. The consequences do get dire which results in a standoff between the Frank and Ron and what would be the best action to take given the circumstances. The movie is a fairly entertaining action movie that can help you easily kill some time. Yes it gets gripping at some moments and can get involving but in a complete nutshell it's not something that will be outright fabulous. Directed by Tony Scott, the usual American military movie that is good Sunday afternoon killer.

Thumbs up: Engaging and thrilling

Thumbs down: It has a good blend of a lot of things but doesn't excel in anything

Rating: 7.2/10

Adam and Eve (2005)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Cameron Douglas, Emmanuelle Chirqui, Chad Lindberg, Jake Hoffman, Brian Klugman, Branden Williams

Have you ever witnessed a movie whose trailer is all that it takes for you to get a hold of the movie? Adam (Douglas), is a college senior and an aspiring musician. By chance he meets Eve (Chirqui) one day and it is love at first sight between them. Adam's only intention is to get laid with the oh-so-hot Eve but unfortunately she has other plans. Eve is a virgin and doesn't intend to lose it any soon. The reason is quite simple, she wants it to be the perfect moment that she would remember and not something she would regret. The rest of the movie is pretty simple, Adam keeps trying to woe her and she keeps saying no. And yes, everyone goes home happy towards the end. If there was ever a word for a pointless, cheesy and outright boring movie then this would definitely be it. The acting is extremely stiff, the movie gets boringly repetitive with the constant 'lets-make-love' and 'I-am-not-ready-yet' situations coming up every now and then. Maybe if the movie used humour to make things better, it might have worked. In their defense, they did use humour but it didn't quite have the result they hoped it would. If it is a teenage romance comedy that you seek, then this movie is far away from the word 'entertainment', to be offered only to your enemies.

Thumbs up: Nada

Thumbs down: Hopeless story, bad acting and almost everything else

Rating: 3.8/10

Singham Returns (2014)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Amol Gupte, Dayanand Shetty, Anupam Kher, Zakir Hussain, Sharat Saxena, Mahesh Manjrekar

The ever-so ferocious lion returns once again and this time he is out to clean the city of Mumbai. The first movie gained a wide fan following for showing an aggressive cop and his fight against crime, corruption and poor governance. It was a movie that the common man related with and wished for something like this to happen in the real world. The second movie lives off the success of the first with Bajirao Singham (Devgn) now being a part of the Mumbai police force. When a officer from Singham's squad is found dead inside an ambulance loaded with money, fingers start pointing towards corruption in the police force. Guruji (Kher) is an honest politician who wants to revolutionise the political system by introducing younger ministers, more accountability and focus towards development. Prakash Rao (Hussain) is a corrupt politician who doesn't like the way Guruji is changing the political landscape. Along with phoney godman, Swamiji (Gupte) the duo decide to teach Guruji a lesson and eradicate anyone who comes in their path. Singham decides to step in and prevent Rao and Swamiji from fulfilling their needs and to ensure that his deceased colleagues name is not tarnished with false accusations. There were a lot of unique elements in the previous movie because of which it became so like-able. There were some dialogues, acting styles, story and a host of other smaller things that contributed towards the first movies success. The second movie, sadly, decides to cash in on all the success factors of the previous movies and hence lacking any kind of innovation. The famous dialogue of Ata Maajhi Satakli was chanted numerous times, to the extent of making a song on it. Prakash Raj too had a major contribution in the previous movie for his brilliant performance of a villain. His sole performance in Singham is probably why he has managed to get a lot more work these days. Amole Gupte and Zakir Hussain look like the conventional Bollywood baddies and do not seem to do anything special. The good thing about the movie is that it has equal amounts of energy and aggression as the previous movie with Ajay Devgn making strong statements and shouting every now and then. All-in-all the second part seemed like the first movie all over again with all the good elements re-used to the point that it became simply annoying. And yes, Kareena Kapoor plays the irrelevant love interest with far too much over acting and being a part of all the song sequences.

Thumbs up: Great levels of power and aggression, enjoyable but typical Bollywood action

Thumbs down: Over doing the good bits from the first movie

Rating: 5.8/10

Need for Speed (2014)

Genre: Action/Crime/Adventure/Drama

Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Immogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Keaton

If you take all of the worlds car lovers who are also gaming enthusiast, you will find one common string amongst them all, Need for Speed. The gaming franchisee has earned a reputation for itself over the years and remains the undisputed king in car racing. It was only a matter of time before they decided to make a movie on it. Tobey Marshall (Paul) is a car mechanic who runs a workshop along with some of his friends. He is known to be the best mechanic there is and also a polished racer who regularly takes part in illegal street races. Dino Brewster (Cooper) is Tobey's arch rival on the street circuits and an entrepreneur who buys old cars and restores and upgrades them and makes money by selling them for a profit. Dino offers Tobey to complete an unfinished Ford Shelby Mustang and would get paid 25% of it's sale value. Julia Maddon (Poots) is an exotic car dealer who connects rich people with the cars of their dreams. With the sale going through, Dino challenges Tobey to a race that would entitle him to all of the $2.7 million that he received as a payout. Pete, a young friend of Tobey's and also Dino's girlfriends brother, takes part in the race but unfortunately loses his life after Dino shunts him. Tobey gets falsely framed for the accident and is made to serve time. Once out, he is hungry for revenge and with the help of Julia manages to get hold of the Mustang and takes part in the infamous De Leon race where he could redeem himself. There are very few movies out there who focus only on car racing and are actually good. The Fast and the Furious series of movies started out being just that but somehow shifted its focus soon after. This movie is paradise for a car lover and has the right mix of adrenaline, car chases, crashes and exotic wheels. The only part that could have probably been improvised was the last De Leon race that seemed to happen far too fast, predictable and easy, it was a let down in the name of a climax. I would have expected some very exciting racing that builds up to a climax that is fit for the movie. The story is loosely based on some of the games and does not draw from any one particular game, which is good and bad. Good because it means that the story has some amount of innovation and freshness but at the same time is bad because it does not connect back to the game except for the name. It would have been good if the movie would have borrowed some key points from the game to include in the movie that fans could identify, but sadly there are none. An amazing action movie for the one who loves some smashing cars but the pure NFS fan might feel a little let down with the disconnect with the games.

Thumbs up: Great car racing action

Thumbs down: Weak climax, no relation to the games

Rating: 7.2/10

Year One (2009)

Genre: Comedy/Adventure

Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, David Cross, June Diane Raphael, Juno Temple, Matt Willig, Oliver Platt, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Vinnie Jones

When you have a movie featuring Jack Black in the lead, you know exactly what you are getting into; slapstick and stupid humour that might give you more of a headache then entertainment. Zed, son of Zero (Black) belongs to an ancient tribe where he works as a gatherer. He wants to gain more respect in his tribe by doing something good but fails at both hunting and gathering and gets soon kicked out of the tribe for eating the Forbidden Fruit. His companion Oh, son of Ooh (Cera) follows him into exile after taking pity on his condition and decides to journey with Zed to edge of the world where they would theoretically just drop off. Their journey leads them to encounter more advanced civilizations than their own and meet Cane (Cross) who murders his brother Abel and flees out of town with Zed and Ooh. They then encounter the Sodomites who had invaded Zed's village and have taken Maya (Raphael), Zed's love interest and Eema (Temple), Oh's love interest as slaves. Zed and Oh decide that they should go at any lengths to save the people of their village that leads them to Sodom, the city of sins. The movie traverses the story of the Book of Genesis in an outlandishly humorous and stupid manner. Like I mentioned earlier, the humour is very typical of Jack Black and is far too slapstick and stupid to arouse any kind of humour. In spite of a relatively short run time, the movie seems far too long to go through and is quite a pain. It cannot be watched with a mindset to evaluate critically but something to enjoy with friends and enjoy the ridiculous humour.

Thumbs up: Jack Black's humour might entertain some

Thumbs down: Completely outrageous and can get a bit annoying after a bit

Rating: 5.3/10

Big Nothing (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Mystery

Starring: Simon Pegg, David Schwimmer, Alice Eve, Natashcha McElhone

In a small town in Oregan, USA, a serial killer is known to be at large for killing and mutilating young women. Charlei (Schwimmer) is a house husband who is currently unemployed and is banking on his book to slingshot his career. His wife, Penelope (McElhone) is a police detective and is supportive of Charlie and his current condition. When Charlie decides to join a call center, he meets Gus (Pegg), a frustrated employee who quickly gets along with Charlie and they both are sympathetic of each others situation. Gus reveals to Charlie his plans of blackmailing the reverend after he learns of the reverends illegal visits of porn sites. Gus' friend, Josie (Eve) who was once a teenage pageant queen, learns of their plan and joins the duo. Initially reluctant to be a part of the plan, Charlie comes along due to a desperate need for some money to support his family. With the call made, amount agreed upon and alibi's ready, the group decide to put their plan into action which gets bungled with the reverends accidental death and a host of other mishaps. A good blend of comedy and crime with a good number of twists thrown in, the movie is very typical of Simon Pegg and his genre of comedy. With David Schwimmer playing a supporting role, the movie does reasonably well for itself although it fails to be an outright entertainer. Pegg seems to have heaved the entire movie on his shoulders and lands up being the only one putting any efforts into making it watchable. If you enjoys Pegg's style of blending crime, murder and comedy then this movie is a great watch but he sorely needs someone next to him to compliment the humour.

Thumbs up: Simon Pegg

Thumbs down: Pegg needs a sidekick

Rating: 6.3/10

Once (2006)

Genre: Drama/Musical/Romance

Starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova

There are movies which boast of a big star cast, complicated stories, special effects, exotic locations, sets, makeup and a host of other things. All of this just to spruce up the experience of the audience whilst watching the movie. And on the other hand, you have movies such as Once which is the exact opposite of everything above. In Dublin, Ireland, a man in his late thirties (Hansard) is an aspiring musician who plays his guitar on street corners. He also helps his dad at a hoover repair shop when he's not playing on the street. He once had a girlfriend, with whom he has parted ways and she now lives in London. One evening, his songs catch the attention of a young Czech girl (Irglova) who is fascinated with his self-written lyrics. The two quickly become friends and bond over their common love for music. She occasionally plays the piano when she has the time and two start jamming together and realise that they make a good duo. Her husband has left her and her daughter alone in Dublin whilst he is away in Czech Republic. Both of them find a lot in common with each other, music and estranged love lives. This movie is the pure definition of a simplistic movie which has a straight forward storyline and has no frills attached to it. It is a true example of how the most simple of movies can turn out this exceptional. The music in the movie is particularly catchy that adds the true essence to the entire movie. Many a times songs in the movie seem a forced addition but in this case it blends seamlessly to the movie and is brilliant. Don't let the genre of the movie turn you down, it's not a sloppy romance but an example of good cinema.

Thumbs up: Amazing sound track, very neat and simple

Thumbs down: Can be a bit slow for those who prefer fast-paced movies

Rating: 7.8/10

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Adventure/Thriller

Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, Vanessa Lee Chester, Richard Schiff

In a direct continuation to where the last movie left off, the idea of Jurassic Park turned out to be a disaster and John Hammond (Attenborough) has lost everything he had. His nephew, Peter (Howard) is now in control of his company and intends to capture the animals and bring them back to San Diego and put them up in a zoo. Hammond wants to make for all the wrong that he has done and wishes to document the animals in their natural habitat and wishes to rally support from world over. In order to do this, he has approached Dr. Sarah Harding (Moore) a paleontologist, Nick Van Owen (Vaughn) a documentary expert, Eddie Carr (Schiff) a field equipment expert and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) a mathematician. Having been a part of the previous disaster, Ian believes that John Hammond is once again doing a mistake by going back to the island and is also furious that his girlfriend, Sarah, is already on the island without informing him. He agrees for the trip, not to help John but to convince the others to come back with him. The earlier movie focuses on the park in itself and how dinosaurs can't be contained inside one. This movie seems to have no objective on it's own and simply showcases a lot of humans being attacked by dinosaurs and the ultimate rescue that takes place. With a lack of a clear story line objective, it can get a bit boring by seeing the same T-Rex and Velociraptors as in the previous movie, once again chasing humans down. The movie lacks any form of creativity in terms of dinosaurs, an objective or even the final outcome of the movie. A decent action-thriller but lacks the excitement of the previous movie.

Thumbs up: Great special effects and depiction of dinosaurs

Thumbs down: Repetitive as the previous movie

Rating: 6.4/10

Hackers (1995)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama/Science-fiction

Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Renoly Santiago, Matthew Lillard, Jesse Bradford, Laurence Manson, Fisher Stevens, Wendell Pierce

An eleven-year-old Dade Murphy aka Zero Cool is charged with hacking into 1,507 computer systems in one day and causing a seven point drop in the New York Stock Exchange. Dade is banned from ever touching a computer till he is 18 and when he does turn 18, he is just the same. His parents are now divorced and his mother is moving to New York to find better career prospects. Dade follows her and is made to join high school in New York. There he meets Kate Libby aka Acid Burn (Jolie), Ramon Sanchez aka The Phantom Freak (Santiago), Emmanuel Goldstein aka Cereal Killer, Paul Cook aka Lord Nikon (Manson) and the young Joey Pardella (Bradford). Joey, in order to prove that he is just as smart as the others, hacks into a supercomputer belonging to a minerals company and copies a garbage file. What Joey doesn't realise is that the garbage file is not actually garbage and holds a virus. Eugene Belford aka The Plague (Stevens) is the companies IT chief and has planted the virus there himself. Eugene wants to cover his tracks and will do anything to make the world believe that Joey, with the help of Dade and his friends, are evil hackers who want to watch the world burn. The movie seems very hazardously made having no coherence or flow. Many subplots that don't add too much value to the movie and very tacky animation is what it offers. The animation and special effects hopelessly fails to replicate the action method that hackers use and seems to only predict their work environment in an unbelievable manner. Can only be enjoyed by computer geeks, maybe.

Thumbs up: Jolie looks quite attractive

Thumbs down: Not very thrilling as it could have been

Rating: 5.2/10

Life of something Like It (2002)

Genre: Romance/Comedy/Drama

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, Tony Shalhoub, Christian Kane

A famous TV reporter Lanie Kerrigan (Jolie) is living the life that she always dreamed of having. She is dating a famous baseball player, earning well, is on the brink of moving on to a bigger and better network and is just very happy. Lanie fails to get along well with ace cameraman Pete Scanlon (Burns) and to her dismay, is asked to interview a self-proclaimed prophet, Jack (Shalhoub) with Pete behind the lens. Jack predicts the outcome of the football match that night, with the exact score, hail the next day, Lanie's failure in getting her new job and her death in seven days. When the first two predictions come true, and a host of others later on, Lanie realises that her life is jeopardy and she needs to make amends. With only a week left, she tries to reconcile with people she couldn't get along and make amends for her sins. A very typical rom-com movie with an extremely predictable outcome is what you would understand after watching this movie. Neither Jolie nor Burns tried too hard in making any efforts at acting and it shows in the dismal failure of the movie. Although the movie tries to play on a good idea, it fails in executing that thought and ends up bringing something mediocre. Rom-com fans might just be able to get by the movie but from a neutral stand-point, it's a washout.

Thumbs up: Nothing in particular

Thumbs down: Bad acting and even worse plot execution

Rating: 5.1/10

Man of the Year (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Crime/Romance

Starring: Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum

Everyone is tired of politicians, their false promises, artificial behaviour, corruption, lack of accountability and a host of other things. TV comedian, John Dobbs (Williams) is the host of a popular comedy talk show when one of his viewers suggested that he run for president. The comment initially got passed off as a joke but with more and more fans suggesting the same idea, John Dobbs decided to run for president. He stood for everything that the other candidates did not and gave immense confidence to the public that he can change their lives for good. Eleanor Green (Linny) works for a software company called Delacroy who is currently developing a computerised system of vote counting rather than the conventional paper and ballot method. Eleanor finds a bug in the system that could potentially swing votes to another candidate because of a flawed algorithm and decides to escalate the matter to the upper management. John Dobbs ends up winning the presidential election with a landslide victory, a win that Eleanor knew was false. With Delacroy stocks shooting through the roof, the management decides to let the problem pass under the rug and ensure that Eleanor is kept silent. The movie explores a good concept of a comedian becoming the president and is actually a good watch for the first half an hour or so. It is only after this point, that the movie gets slow, the romance starts seeping in and Robin Williams is not funny anymore. The story is the kind that could've been wrapped up in no time whatsoever but was unneccessarily stretched in the interest of completing the run time. The only saving grace in the movie was Robin Williams whose humour actually does make you laugh and instills his persona of being a comedian. A good entertainer for a few laughs, but if you turn it off after the half way mark, you won't be missing anything special.

Thumbs up: Robbin Williams and his humour

Thumbs down: The second half

Rating: 6.2/10

Rear Window (1954)

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Drama

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Themla Ritter, Raymond Burr

A famous professional photographer, L.B. Jefferies (Stewart) broke his leg whilst trying to get a good shot on a racetrack that has left him bed-ridden. A man that enjoys being on the field, for him being stuck at home is a nightmare. Having nothing much to do, Jefferies spends his time looking out of his window and keeping an eye on his neighbours and what they are constantly up to. Lisa Freemont (Kelly) is an extremely beautiful socialite who is in love with Jeff. However, Jeff is of the opinion that Lisa and him would never get along since their lifestyles are completely different. One night, when Lisa and Jeff are discussing about why a future together is or is not possible, Jefferies attention falls on his neighbor Lars Thorwald (Burr). Jefferies has been noticing Thorwald and his wife since a few days and has realised that the two are not quite happy with each other. When Jeff spots Thorwald making trips in the middle of the night with suitcases and his wife suddenly going missing one night, he suspects that something might be wrong. Upon further investigation, Jeff and Lisa are convinced that Thorwald has murdered his wife and has cut her body in pieces to get it disposed. The theory does not go well with Detective Thomas Doyle (Corey) who brings evidence to prove otherwise but Jeff is not convinced. Alfred Hitchcock is famous for his movies on crime and mystery and this movie has been touted as one of his best. In spite of the movie being 60 years old, it still feels as if it was created in today's modern age and never looks out of place. It manages to conjure a steady thrill and excitement in the audience that is quite amazing. The only downside to the movie is the manner in which the crime was unraveled. Many pieces of evidence and lose strings were not acknowledged and are left hanging with no explanation. Had their been a close to the entire story, it truly would have been a wonderful movie, not saying that it isn't. A stupendous crime movie that has simplicity and yet the amazing thrill of a Hitchcock.

Thumbs up: Very gripping and interesting

Thumbs down: Story does not close completely.

Rating: 8.1/10

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Genre: Thriller/Crime/Mystery/Drama/Animation/Science-fiction

Starring (voice): Rory Cochrane, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reaves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson

Substance D, a powerful hallucinatory drug has taken over the streets of USA and has resulted in a lot of people regularly consuming it. The drug has adverse affects on the mind with the possibility of permanent brain damage. In order to get to the root of the problem, the government has hired a team of detectives who are to intermingle with the drug lords and help gain information. In order to protect their identity, the detectives wear scramble suits at work, suits that constantly change the appearance of the wearer, so as to not be able to identify them. Bob Arctor (Reaves) is one such detective who was assigned to obtain more information about Donna (Ryder) a known drug peddler but instead gets addicted to Substance D himself. Bob shares his apartment with his friends, James Barris (Downey Jr.) and Ernie Luckman (Harrelson) who, like him, are all addicted to Substance D. Most of the movie revolves around Bob and his friends and their antics whilst high on Substance D. It also includes much of Bob Arctor and his attempts at gaining more information from Donna and his gradual deterioration of his health. Most of the movie is filled with jargon, especially with respect to Downey Jr.'s character, and the average viewer may get lost before the end of the first half. The movie requires a lot of attention and patience which is well rewarded by a good climax and nice ending. Yes, the movie is very dialogue heavy and you might be left wondering many a times with 'what is going on' but if you watch it carefully, the intelligent minds would understand. The movie's animation technique is very different and typically cartoon-ish. All the character's appearance is modeled around their actual real-life faces which gives it a good edge of realism. It is a movie that can be interesting but at the same time extremely boring, depends upon how you watch it.

Thumbs up: Great ending, good animation technique

Thumbs down: Extremely wordy, confusing dialogues

Rating: 6.5/10

Swordfish (2001)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Sam Shephard

Ex-American president, J.Edgar Hoover had allegedly started a secret department called Black Cell whose sole purpose was to initiate attacks against terrorists who have attacked or tried to attack American citizens. The department still continues, albeit illegally, by Senator Reisman (Shephard) who protects Gabriel Shear (Travolta) and lets him do the work he needs to do. Like any other terrorist outfit, Gabriel needs money to carry out his anti-terrorism operations and is looking for a capable hacker to help him in this. Enter Stanley Jobson (Jackman) one of the most famed hackers who is now leading a sedentary lifestyle after going to prison for 2 years on charges of computer crimes and also losing custody of his daughter to his drunk wife. Stan is desperate to get his daughter back, for which he needs money and it is something that Gabriel has in abundance. Gabriel simply wants Stanley to hack in to the WorldBanc mainframes and transfer him some money that he could use for his operations. Agent J.T. Roberts (Cheadle) was the man who put Stanley behind bars and is once again hunting down Stan and Gabrielle and wants to put an end to everything for good. The movie is a very typical American action movie with corrupt politicians, hackers, complicated computer systems, cars and planes blowing up every now and then and conspiracy theories. It lacks strong dialogues and good acting to complement the mildly innovative story. A good entertaining watch for those who love popcorn-action movies but if you're looking at a more solid story and good acting then this movie might not really deliver.

Thumbs up: Decent action entertainer

Thumbs down: A typical Hollywood action movie with nothing very different to offer

Rating: 6.5/10

Chef (2014)

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Adventure

Starring: Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, EmJay Anthony

Chef's are those people who have chased their passion and made it into a career. Very few career opportunities provide for it and working in a kitchen is about living this passion. Chef Carl Casper (Favreau) is a widely celebrated chef who works for an upmarket L.A. restaurant. When a noted food critic arrives to rate the restaurant, the restaurant owner throws his menu out and forces him to cook the regular dishes. This leads to a disaster, a negative review, Casper venting out his frustration on Twitter, Casper going viral, Casper loses his job and now he has nothing left in his life to live for. Casper's son, Percy (Anthony) looks up to his father a lot but Casper does little to keep him happy. When Casper's ex-wife persuades him to join Percy and her for a vacation to Miami, Casper agrees so that he could spend more time with his son. Miami does good for him where he realises that he needs to bounce back somehow and with the help of his sous-chef, Martin (Leguizamo) and Percy, they manage to put together a food truck that would travel from Miami to L.A., whipping all kinds of good food. The movie is a complete delight for those who love food and everything about it. The manner in which Jon Fraveau executes the lead role is utterly phenomenal to the extent that he could come across as a professional cook. The father-son chemistry is nice, the subtle mixture of social media within the entire movie is an added touch of reality and the humour is not laugh out loud or slapstick but enough to make you enjoy it. An extremely uplifting and positive movie to watch, but don't go with an empty stomach.

Thumbs up: Jon Favreau and the amazing story line

Thumbs down: Gets a bit slow and repetitive somewhere near the half-way mark

Rating: 7.8/10

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D) (2014)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure/Action/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Kit Harington, Djimon Hounsou

In a direct continuation to the previous movie, Hiccup (Baruchel) has managed to bring peace between his village and the dragons. Dragons and humans now continue to live in harmony but this peace only exists in his village and their are still dragons and humans at war elsewhere. Stoick the Vast (Butler) the Viking chief is adamant on making Hiccup, his son, the next chief, a past that Hiccup is reluctant to take up. On one dragon flying expedition with his friends, Hiccup discovers a huge formation of ice and encounters Eret (Harington) a dragon trapper. Eret traps dragons in the sky and sells them to his master, Drago Bludvist (Hounsou). Drago intends to capture every dragon possible and with the help of the Alpha dragon, a colossal beast to him all dragons must answer to, he shall rule the world. This movie tries to take home the hidden message of peace between animals and humans and succeeds in doing so. The brilliant animation along with a fun story makes this movie a good watch for the average ten-year-old. Attention to detail like the slight stubble that a coming of age Hiccup is growing is fact that DreamWorks understands the need for detailing. The only apparent drawback is the second half of the story where it seems too much happened in too less a time. Perhaps the showdown with Drago could have been juice for a part 3 but I guess the makers didn't want to take that route. There is no strong connection to the previous movie but a few finer aspects do have a link. All-in-all, a good entertainer but adults can get easily bored.

Thumbs up: Great animation

Thumbs down: Needs a more over whelming story

Rating: 6.5/10

Amistad (2014)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Biography

Starring: Morgan Freema, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthrone, Djimon Hounsou, David Paymer, Peter Postlewaite, Chiwetel Ejiofor

In the 19th century, slave trade has been abolished in the United States and only those born on plantations are deemed as slaves. Kidnapping or purchasing Africans from Africa and selling them is now termed to be illegal. A Spanish vessel called La Amistad witnessed a slave uprising with the slaves taking control of the ship. They let the ship owners survive, believing that they will take them back to Africa. The ship instead gets found by the US Navy and is taken into custody. The slaves, led by Cinque (Hounsou) demand for their freedom and return to Sierra Leone, something which the Spanish government is refuting on the grounds that the ship and it's cargo belongs to Spain and USA has got no jurisdiction over it. Social activist Lewis Tappan (Paymer) and Theodore Joadson (Freeman) wish to give justice to the slaves and request a property attorney, Roger Baldwin (McConaughey) to help him represent the slaves in court. The current president of The United States, Martin van Buren is facing pressure from the Spanish government along with the southern states to not let the slaves go free. If they do, the south states would go to war with the north and eventually lead to a civil war. A movie from the renowned Steven Spielberg, it has a lot riding on it. It very accurately showcases American politics, slavery and the build up to the civil war. The movie is far too straight forward and lacks elements to add some form of entertainment or to make it more interesting. It is a pure legal battle with a glorified vision of USA which tries to project American politicians and bureaucrat as catalysts towards elimination of slavery. Some pieces of information were missing and were left to the audiences imagination like the argument of the district attorney and the change of heart of the corrupt judge. These missing elements pieced together along with some tweaks in the story line could have gone a long way in making this movie more enjoyable. A good court-battle movie that deserved to be better.

Thumbs up: Fabulous acting, especially by Djimon Hounsou

Thumbs down: Could be more interesting

Rating: 7.7/10

The Lego Movie (2014)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure/Science-fiction

Starring (voice): Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Bay, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman

The animated movie industry has moved by leaps and bounds in making more realistic, accurate, sharp and high-definition movies. Various styles, methods and designs have been used over the years but somehow the Lego movies have always mesmerized audiences. Emmet (Pratt) is an average joe and a construction worker who believes he is extremely happy with life. A wizard by the name of Virtuvirus (Freeman) attempts to save a weapon called as The Kragle from the evil Lord Business (Ferrell) who wants to take over the world. There lives a prophecy where a Master Builder would find The Kragle and restore peace to the world and thus eliminating Business for good. Eight and a half years later, Emett, the construction worker, finds The Kragle and thus fulfills the prophecy to save the world. This movie is clearly a 'love it' or 'hate it' by judging the quality of it's humour. Most of the movie is based on ridiculous, immature, pointless and slapstick comedy that might fail to entertain a lot of the audience. On the other hand, many people, like me, might love this sort of humour and send you rolling over the floor. From a unicorn/kitty hybrid creature that lives in Cloud Cuckoo Land in Middle Zealand and only smiles, a cop with a bipolar disorder, an annoying astronaut who loves building spaceships and Batman who only builds in black and sometimes very dark grey, this movie is an ultimate riot. The animation is another feature that is quite visually stunning. The entire city within the movie is made out of Lego. There is not a single visual element that is not made from Lego blocks and this feature being different from other conventional animated movies, makes it even more unique.

Thumbs up: Great humour, fabulous animation

Thumbs down: Humour may not be for all

Rating: 8.0/10

RoboCop 2 (1990)

Genre: Action/Crime/Science-fiction

Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Belinda Bauer, Dan O'Herlihy, Felton Perry, Tom Noonan, Willard E. Pugh, Gabriel Damon

In continuation to the previous movie, OCP wants the Detroit government to default on their payments so that the entire city can be privatised and comes under the control of OCP. The OCP is trying hard to replace the police force with machines which forces the police to go on a strike, leaving the entire city of Detroit open to crime. With failed experiments, Dr. Juliette Faxx (Bauer) proposes to once again try the original version of RoboCop (Weller) but with improvements. Kane (Noonan) is a criminal who has formulated a new drug called Nuke. With Nuke causing a pandemonium in Detroit, RoboCop is trying hard to curb it and bring an end to it. The sole reason why the first movie worked well is because of its ingenious plot line. The second movie is a mere extension of the first one, with nothing extra added on to it. A very typical cop-chases-criminal story is what ensues along with a highly predictable outcome. Some upgradation to RoboCop as a character to keep interest alive was necessary that was highly missed in the movie. A good action movie and nothing more.

Thumbs up: Decent action entertainer

Thumbs down: Lacks innovation in the story

Rating: 6.3/10

Jurassic Park (1993)

Genre: Adventure/Action/Thriller/Science-fiction

Starring: Same Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mozzello, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs were the undisputed rulers of Earth. Growing up to humongous proportions, these reptiles were the kings of land, air and water and were completely unstoppable. A climatic catastrophe saw an end to their era and ever since, humans have always been fascinated with them. John Hammon (Attenborough) is a billionaire who has done what no one else had imagined was possible, he has bought dinosaurs back to life. He has built a theme park called Jurassic Park on an island off the coast of Costa Rica, however, some life threatening incidents to park workers has brought about the question of public safety on the park. Hammond's investors demand for a safety approval from various experts. Enter Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) a paleontologist, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) a paleobotanist and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) a mathematician and chaos theorist.The trio are entrusted with the task of surveying the park and certify it safe to open to the public. The movie is unique in it's story and the treatment that has been given to it. The special effects and animations that have been given to the dinosaurs are path-breaking considering the time-frame when the movie was made. Although the story could be a little off-beaten and not too conventional, it is still an exceptional and gripping movie to enjoy.

Thumbs up: Great special effects

Thumbs down: Perhaps a more unconventional story

Rating: 7.5/10