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