total timepass...

I don't like watching Hollywood movies much. And the reason is that they make me think (and sometimes make me feel sad). Much longer than having watched the movie. And Imitation Game is one such movie. For one, it was about something I had not heard about till now. About Turin, about his contribution to the World War, about his machine, about how even though they broke the German's code, they decided not to go all out with their breakthrough, but balance out the short term gains with the long term aim; decide with their brains and not their hearts. It was very very interesting, and I think the director and the actors did a brilliant job of it all. Benedict Cumberbatch was perfect for the role and he did it justice. It was all perfect. But what I was left thinking about after the movie, was just the last 10(?) mins of the movie - what happened to Turin afterwards. The movie was about the Turin machine, and what happened after was just mentioned in passing. But that was a...

Its a bit late to review a movie seen two months back, but I think Interstellar requires one. It was a Christopher Nolan movie. I would not hold the same standards for a lot of movies, but I think his movies need to be more.. and Interstellar wasn't! To be fair - it was amazing at a lot of levels! The visuals, the creativity in the vision - linking space travel, a grim future, black holes, singularities, gravity between time and so on requires a lot of courage and vision. But it failed. And for me, it failed because it tried to do too much! By the end of it, I was confused about what the movie was trying to say and do. Was it trying to give reasons for ghosts and superstitions? Was it an emotional movie on relationships? Cooper and his daughter? Amelia and her father? Amelia and her boyfriend? Was it a science fiction? Did it want to talk about the great human spirit? Or just show an awesome visual movie? Did it have a message on the fraility of human character? Or the import...

I went in to watch Hunger Games with a little bit of skepticism, as I had not been bowled over by the last version. Not really because the movie wasn't good, but because it made me feel very helpless, seeing what the games meant! But I came out of Part 2 feeling a lot happier than before, mostly because it ended with hope. The plot moves ahead from where it left off, Katniss is now a heroine and goes around the empire as the latest winner. Even though she faces internal dilemmas and does not want to be held to the empire's principles, she nonetheless follows them for the safety of her family. Inspite of that, disturbances break out across the districts because of her. And then she gets to go back into the games, as part of the 75th celebration which has winners from the previous games. The games feel different, and even though as tough, there seems to be an alliance around her. At the end of the games, she survives, realising she was part of a plan for an upcoming revoluti...

We're the Millers is one of those Hollywood movies, which are fun to watch once; good for a couple or two of laughs and then you forget about them. They deliver what they promise to, nothing more and nothing less. So don't expect any pathbreaking message from the movie, just go with an open mind and enjoy. We're the Millers is the story of a motley group; a middle-aged drug dealer, an out-of-work stripper, a nerd boy and a homeless tough girl; all trying to act like a normal family, while smuggling a busload of drugs from Mexico into the US. The sequences in the movie are hilarious: trying to bribe a Mexican police officer, a spider mishap, a night of camping with an DEA officer and so on. All sequences are laugh-out-loud funny though they sometimes involve adult humour. The end is as would be expected, this group becomes a real family. Would go with 3 for this one, a true value for money. Good for a funny evening out.

The Heat is one of those not-great-but-still-enjoyable-for-2-hours kind of movie which abound all over Hollywood. Its the story of an arrogant but capable FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) who goes to Boston to bust a big drug dealer, and ends up teaming up with the local shoot from your hip kind of cop, Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) to achieve this. Both of them are as different in their attitude and thinking as could be possible, and what follows is a tale of how these two women become friends and are ready to do anything for each other. Its a funny movie, with awesome laugh-off-your-seats kind of dialogues. Nothing more to talk about though! Would go for 3 stars for this one.

The saga is finally over.. And a not so bad end I would say. A lot lot better than Hangover 2 for sure! On the whole though, this movie is forgettable except that its the last of the trio and so you would see it anyways just for closure. The plot is slightly different this time, there is no bachelor party to have the mix-ups. Just a criminal boss kidnapping Doug (yes, again!) for the entire movie while the wolfgang are out to get the gold back from Chow for this crime boss. What follows is a gold heist with Chow, a double crossing, the Gang chasing Chow in Vegas and the finale with the crime boss dead. There were not that many over-the-top moments in this version, just some exotic locales, some good jokes and an entertaining feel about it. The after credits scenes of course had something the other Hangovers were famous for, be sure not to miss it! But at least this episode was not a total failure like the second one. At least it was different even if not as good as the first Ha...

Saw the movie 'Trance' by Danny Boyle recently and was not impressed. The movie is a thriller, with too many overlapping sequences that gets you confused between reality and dreams, present and the past. So what could have been another Memento or Inception turns out to be just a poor copy of it. The premise of the movie is very interesting; an art house employee steals an expensive work of art and then forgets where he hid it. Hounded by his fellow partners in crime, he uses the help of a hypnotist to delve into his mind to find where he hid the painting. What follows are a sequence of thriller chases, ego clashes, betrayals, dreams mixed with reality and so on till the final curtain on the truth opens. The climax is quite unexpected, and would have made it a great movie, except that it was lacking on clarity, Maybe if the storyline had been clearer, the movie would have been worth watching. The acting was good, the action sequences thrilling but the confusion killed it...

Skyfall is the first Bond movie I have ever seen in the theater  Have watched some earlier ones but all were on TV and I found them all extremely mindless and entertaining:). But this one promised to be different! For one, Daniel Craig has been a different Bond, focusing not as much on the style quotient of the movie as the thought behind the man. And this one was definitely in that genre. The focus of Skyfall was on M and her relationships with the spies she trained, while also raising a question at the existence of her department. It starts with M allowing an agent to take a shot at Bond risking his life for a higher reward. But then Bond returns from the dead to save her and her department from the unknown enemy.Some sequences later turns out the unknown enemy was none other than an ex-Bond, burnt by M's betrayal in the past now looking to take his revenge on her. Its a story of delving into the depths of M's mind, 'orphans make the best recruits'. Even ...

Since I am not an action-hero movie buff, there are not many in-depth views that I have about the Dark Knight Rises. All in all, I can just say that the movie was enjoyable, with a decent script and lot of good special effects to be fully involved. But there were a couple of interesting things I thought of after coming out of the theatre. For one, in the Dark Knight Rises, the focus is on Batman rather than the villain which was very unlike the last movie. When you came out of the movie theatre, you thought about Batman, his troubles, his doubts and his rise rather than Bane. This was in sharp contrast to the Dark Knight where all that was in your head was the Joker and Batman was relegated to a supporting presence. Also, Bane as the villain was too plain, just a strong body and a couple of people he controls. Not too much about him to remember. Another interesting point in the movie was its portrayal about what may happen when the 99% take over from the 1%. I am not supporting ei...

Ted, the latest from Mark Wahlberg, is a comedy unlike most of his previous movies which were mostly action-based. To be frank, I am not a fan of animations or other children's movies and don't enjoy them much. So expectedly, I wasn't keen on watching Ted either. I went in with minimal expectations but surprisingly enjoyed the movie! To be honest, a movie about a walking-talking Teddy Bear has to be a children's movie! But Ted was more than that. It started out just like that, where a small boy's wish to have a friend of his own, a talking Teddy Bear brings joy to his life. His 'thunder-buddy' forever is the friend to him he never had, his constant companion and they both share a happy life together. But once in adulthood, the same friendship weighs him down. He is not able to outgrow the carefree days of his childhood and the presence of Ted in his life makes sure this never happens. This is the premise of the movie, when Mark's girlfriend wants hi...

We saw Avengers sometime back after it had already been declared a hit. And we had high expectations from the movie. But it turned out to be a movie made for kids! We really failed to understand how it became a hit. To be fair, its not a bad movie. It is decently well-made, with a well flowing story, lot of super-hero characters, animation etc. Its fun for sure. But its definitely not something great or deserving to be a hit. At least that's what I felt! As for the movie, its made well. Guess if you have followed the individual super-heroes, you get a lot more of the contextual jokes. I did not understand most of them, but don't think that took away anything from the movie. Loved the interaction between the superheroes. Iron-man was my favorite, his jokes, wit and humor was entertaining. Hulk's acting was good. Captain America felt boring. Thor was interesting. The whole premise was forgettable, an attack with support from outerspace. As I said an ok movie, but not...

Hunger Games has been getting so many good reviews recently, you couldn't really escape seeing it. But though most people I know have liked it, I just couldn't take to it. Its a well made movie, no doubt. Well directed, well acted, awesome cinematography, with it all seeming so real. There is no other area of the movie I found lacking other than its basic premise. For me, it was the basic context of the movie which I could just not take to. A future world where children are made to fight to death for survival? I think that's where my mind just stopped taking anything in. How is something like that possible, even to think? I wouldn't even want to imagine something like. No, I did not like the movie, would given it 3 stars still since I think it was well made.

21 Jump Street is a comedy movie based on two high school non-buddies becoming buddies while in police academy and being sent back to school in an undercover operation. One of the guys is a 'nerd', while the other is the 'cool kid'. But once back to school, the roles are reversed. The nerd now hangs out with the cool kids in the school while the cool guy becomes a nerd. Both of them bumble in their policework all the time and thats what this movie is all about. Its a good movie, with lots of laughs. You enjoy the ride. Wouldn't say that its great though. There are lot of loopholes in the story, and lot of things don't seem plausible. The tone of the movie also keeps changing all the time. From a light school comedy to murders all around. Found that little discomforting. But on the whole, a good movie for a fun evening. Would go with 3 stars on this one.

Sherlock Holmes Part 2 continues the saga of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock (or Shirley as he is surprisingly called by his brother in the movie!!!) as he finally meets and beats his nemesis, the Professor Moriarty (who was incidentally always just mentioned in the original series but never brought in as a character in the books). So now we see Holmes following the Professor across Europe when he sees the Professor's footprint in multiple events happening across Europe threatening peace on the continent. On the way, we see the gypsies and the German anarchists and an arms factory and a peace conference and so on.. From London to Paris to Berlin to Switzerland.. Sherlock and Watson (who was forcibly taken away from his honeymoon) follow his leads during their journey, going through many life-threatening incidents and coming out victorious. There is too much action in this part of the movie, as compared to the first. It's shot well, in typical Guy Ritchie style but it did get to...

Well, here it was... The last and final episode of the Harry Potter Series. The End. And it had to be seen. And it was.. But did it satisfy the Harry Potter fan? I would say no, it did not.. The movie traces the end of the series, with Harry finding and finishing off all the final Horcruxes and finally facing Voldemort and finishing him too. Most of the loose ends of the ealier movies are tied in this last part of the series. But something was definitely missing. The movie is definitely for the book lovers; without reading the book you cannot even comprehend completely what the movie was all about. It's only if you know the world of Harry Potter would you be able to fill in all the missing pieces of the puzzle which the movie fails to even mention. But even then, the last episode of the series failed to capture what it all meant. The end of a saga, the fulfilling of seven years of search and mystery. All parts of the puzzle coming together to give a full meaning to Harry P...

Limitless is an English  masala  movie (as much masala an English movie can be!!), so obviously I enjoyed watching it:). I guess the most important thing while watching this movie is to have low expectations and not think too much; just assume what they are showing is feasible and then relax and have fun! Limitless is the story of a loser writer, Eddie, who comes across an illegal drug NZT- 48 which increases the activity of the brain to its full capacity rather than the 20% it works at most of the times. So now Eddie can finish writing a book in four days, learn languages in minutes, find anomalies in trading to make millions, outsmart anyone and basically do a lot lot more than what an average person can! And how he makes use of these powers is what this whole movie is about.  His flirtation with the Wall Street, his fling with the law, his escapades from goons and others after the pill and so on.... There is everything in the movie: comedy, action, suspense,...

Another of the Oscar nominated movies and another one based on real life. The King's Speech details the life of an unconfident younger brother Albert to the future-king of England, King George the VI, the younger brother who stammers and cannot even speak publicly, to the King of England who leads the country through the Second World War. Of course, this change in him happens with time as well as due to the tutelage of Lionel, an Australian speech therapist and the constant support and encouragment of his wife. The movie traces the journey of Albert through this period, his failures, his introduction to Lionel, the ups and downs between the two, the speech training he undertook under Lionel, his brother's accession and abdication of the throne and his own crowning. The acting is brilliant, the story slow and the interaction between Lionel and Albert the high point of the movie. Still found the movie a bit slow, so would just go with 3 stars for this.

We went for this movie after seeing it receive a couple of nominations for the Golden Globe, and I was a bit apprehensive about how good the movie could be if its about boxing.. Well it surpassed my expectations.. Its a really well made movie and a pleasure to watch. The story tracks the career of Mickey, a boxer in the making from a small town, working under the tutelage of his once on-the-rise boxer brother, Dickey and his mom as his agent. They all try hard and there are misses and bad lucks on the way. Plus with his brother being addicted, it doesn't really go too well for Mickey and his family. And slowly things change, Mickey breaks off from his family, trains under professionals and is on the rise. There are multiple issues still though, family ties versus commercial reasons. It all sorts out though and he goes on to win the boxing title. A brilliant movie, with a carefully thought of script. Perfect acting. All in all, a good piece. Would give it 3.5 stars.

A movie set in the wild west America, about a young girl's journey to find and bring to justice her father's murderer is the background for this movie. She recruits a US marshal for this purpose, a drunkard one at that. On the way while in the Indian territory, they also run into Matt Damon, the Texan ranger, in search of the same murderer, Clancey. The cinematography is good, the setting of the movie well shot. Acting is quite fine. Matt Damon is a bit underused in the movie though, with a not so big role. The storyline though could have used a little more work. It seems very lacklustre without anything compelling in the story. The climax seems quite missing in its punch. On the whole, a not so great movie but a watchable movie definitely. Would give it 3 stars.

Its a nice movie, but did not find anything great in it frankly! Its well crafted, well acted and takes us inside the mind of the man who made Facebook. I don't know if its a real story or not, but it does seem so feasible, isn't it? I guess thats about all I found worthwhile in the movie, the truth of how many toes might have been stepped on while creating something so big.. Would give it 3.5 stars.