Black Sheep Previews: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

I don't think I've ever seen any of the original NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movies. I was never really good with horror films when I was a kid and I tend to avoid them as often as possible even now. It isn't because I don't think they're any good; it's more so because I already have enough trouble sleeping and I don't need bad dreams on top of that.

This new nightmare is being billed as a re-imagining of the now classic Wes Craven series from the 1980's. Directed by music video director, Samuel Bayer, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET now stars Jackie Earle Haley as the iconic serial killer, Freddy Kruger. The trailer debuted this week and already has the internet all abuzz so I thought I'd share it with you. I already don't want to go to sleep.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is scheduled for release on April 20, 2010.

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Burn After Reading (2008)

Genre: Drama/Crime/Comedy

Starring: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt

This is precisely what happens when various different people get involved with each other unnecessarily and just end up screwing up their lives. Osbourne Cox (Malkovich) gets fired from his government job and is writing a book. Seeing his hopeless situation, his wife Katie (Swinton) wants a divorce. Chad (Pitt) and Linda (Mc Dormand) work in a gym. They both find Osbourne's CD with his half-written book and other confidential information. With Linda wanting to collect money for her cosmetic surgery, the duo get over-enthusiastic and use it to extort money from him. Linda is meanwhile dating Harry (Clooney) who is also sleeping with Katie and Harry is about to get a divorce from his own wife. Chad and Linda hand over the CD to the Russian's (For no reason whatsoever) since they seem to be the more sinister types. One thing just keeps leading to another and everything becomes one big mess. The light hints of sarcasm in the movie is simply amazing. You cant expect anything less from a movie with such an awesome star cast. Malkovich just adds a different flavour to every abuse that comes out of his mouth. A definite one-time watch, but as the dialogue in the end of the movie goes "What do we learn Palmer?" "Well I don't know sir" "Neither do I, but I guess we learn not to do it again". Burn after reading? Burn after watching.

Thumbs up: Brad Pitt and John Malkovich
Thumbs down: A few dragged scenes here and there

Rating: 7.1/10

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Broken Arrow (1996)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis

Major Vic Deakins (Travolta) and Capt. Riley Hale (Slater) are doing a top secret military drill carrying nuclear warheads on their plane. Deakins and a whole lot of others from the military are actually involved in one large conspiracy to steal the nukes and extort money from the US government. Capt Hale has taken up responsibility to get those nukes back from Deak and save Utah from becoming a barren nuclear wasteland. With him is Terry (Mathis) a park ranger, who senses something wrong going on in the desert and sets out to find out what it is. The movie is actually quite boring when compared to modern day cinema. The story is something highly old and overused. The movie doesn't have the thrills and the action sequences are also nothing you can go back home and talk about. That said, I must say that John Travolta is the best person who can carry off a pair of aviators.

Thumbs up: Improves your knowledge on nuclear weaponry to some extent
Thumbs down: Might have been appealing when released, but not anymore

Rating: 5.9/10

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BLU-TUESDAY ... September 29

It is the last release date for the month of September and certainly a big one at that. You can tell that distributors and retailers are setting themselves up for what they hope will be the holiday season that makes Blu-Ray a household staple. One of the biggest titles of the year, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS is out today. MANAGEMENT starring Jennifer Aniston was missed in theaters but hopes to find new love on BD. The surprising hit, FIREPROOF, with Kirk Cameron will grace many a Christian household. Cult classics, LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL are now available. And SNAKES ON A PLANE finally makes its way to BD. There are three other titles that I'd like to highlight for you all this week. To get to them, we have to take a little stroll down the yellow brick road.




AWAY WE GO
Before we get to that, I'd like to recommend this heartwarming family comedy, AWAY WE GO, by director, Sam Mendes (Academy Award winner for AMERICAN BEAUTY). While still editing his offering from last year, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Mendes began pre-production work on AWAY WE GO, from writers, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. (Eggers would go on to co-write the upcoming WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE). John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are adorable together as a couple expecting their first child who do not know what city they should raise their family in. They travel around the country, even stopping north of the border in Montreal, in search of home and while, it is episodic, it is also good, genuine fun. For my full review of the film, click here.

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Commentary with Mendes, Eggers and Vida
- Making of featurette
- Green filmmaking featurette

THE WIZARD OF OZ


This is huge! One of the most beloved films of all time is now given one of the grandest BD releases to date. Thie four-disc set contains a good chunk of all the previous special feature material released on the numerous versions that have come before this one but also contains new features too to whet your appetite ... and justify the purchase for those who may already have it on DVD. The audio and video have also been completely restored and I've heard the results are as magical as one would expect from the merry old land of Oz. I cannot wait to get this one in my collection!

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Commentary with the late Sydney Pollack and Oz Historian (?), John Frick
- Interviews with cast and crew
- A tribute to Oz and a handful of other documentaries on the subject
- Jukebox, with outtakes and original recordings
- Still gallery
- Storybook
- Sing along option!


THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
Earlier this year, I had the chance to catch the first of two Steven Soderbergh pictures being released this year, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, at the Tribeca Film Festival. I went on to interview both the director and the star, Sasha Grey. That interview would go on to be my first published for Canada's CBC Arts Online so this film holds a special place in my heart. The heart is an odd place to hold it as it is about a high priced escort facing the hard economic climate but it is also there for me because I truly loved the film. It is stylish without sacrifice of substance, a great experiment and success for Mr. Soderbergh. It is certainly one of his finest features and an excellent first offering in a year that also saw the release of the excellent THE INFORMANT!

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Unrated alternate cut
- Commentary with Soderbergh and Grey
- Featurette about the real girlfriend experience

For my interview with Soderbergh and Grey, click here.

Source: Blu-Ray.com

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Tropic Thunder (2008)

Genre: Comedy/Adventure/Action/War/Spoof

Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Tom Cruise

What do you call a war movie spoof that goes miserably bad? Tropic Thunder. A war movie funded by multi-millionaire Les Grossman (Cruise) is not going anywhere. The movies two big stars, Tugg Speedman (Stiller) and Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.) are having ego clashes. In order to get things straight, the group of actors are dropped into the jungles of Vietnam and the entire movie is to be shot using hidden cameras. The shoot goes badly wrong when the director gets killed by a landmine and the actors are spotted by the Vietcong who kidnap Tugg and hold him for ransom. The movie is not even stupidly funny and the spoof was tried to be created by over-dramatising the already over-dramatic scenes usually seen in war movies. Tom Cruise can easily pass off as unidentifiable if it wasn't for the end credits. His role seems minor and insignificant. Jack Black is probably the only person in the entire movie that you would want to laugh at.

Thumbs up: Ben Stiller and his genes for stupidity
Thumbs down: Lacks humour, boring at times

Rating: 4.7/10

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Whats Your Raashee? (2009)

Genre: Romance/Drama/Comedy

Starring: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Darshan Jariwala, Anjaan Srivastav, Rajesh Vivek

Harman Baweja needs to publicly admit that he cannot possibly act. His futile and lame attempts at it make the movie an even bigger bore. Yogesh (Baweja) hails from a Gujarati family and is happily settled with an MBA in Chicago. According to his horoscope, his family learns that he is the receiver of a large sum of money on the night of his marriage. In dire need for the money, his family calls him back and asks him to get married within the next 10 days. Understanding his family's urgent need for his 'predicted income', he agrees to start meeting girls but insists that he meet only twelve girls, all belonging to different sun-signs. Enter Priyanka Chopra, playing the role of the various prospective candidates. She is perhaps the only good thing about the movie and even wonderfully manages to execute two of the twelve characters amazingly. Unfortunately though, both these characters are the most horrendous looking but demand the most effort. The movie becomes a bit over-dramatic at certain places. Each of the twelve sun-signs represent twelve possibly different types of people, not just with respect to looks, but family, income, nature, needs and requirements. The supporting cast managed to give the movie a very 'gujju' feel to it. Harman Baweja desperately tries to be in league with the current crop of 'cool and young' actors. To give him some credit, he has some really amazing dance moves. The movie has the potential to do well, but small niggles bring it down drastically.

Thumbs up: Priyanka Chopra, the support cast
Thumbs down: Harman Baweja, certain irritating songs

Rating: 4.7/10

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FAME

Written by Allison Burnett
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen
Starring Kay Pannabaker, Asher Book, Kherington Payne and Naturi Naughton


As the famous line goes, “remember my name.” This is what people have always wanted for some reason or another. And when it comes to the newest generation growing up and coming into the world today, they want to sing and dance their way into the hearts of eternity. From HAIRSPRAY to the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL movies to “Glee”, the youngsters out there are enjoying a rebirth of the musical. Spawned by talent showcases like “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance”, young people today are witnessing a newfound respect for artistic talents. If you can sing and dance at the same time, watch out! And if you’re a triple threat and can sing, dance and act, then what you have there is FAME.


The original FAME film that went on to spawn a moderately successful television series was released in 1980. It followed a group of aspiring artists through their four year stay at Performing Arts School in New York City, year or year, just like the wizards of Hogwarts. There were no feature long storylines to guide you through, just one year of highs and lows at a time and a whole lot of letting loose in between. 29 years later, the kids are ready to bust their moves once again and the new FAME actually follows a similar structure. Teaching staff like Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuworth and Megan Mullaly guide through the auditions to their senior year and hope to free the artist within in the process.


In 1980, the unorthodox story development was strong enough to earn writer, Christopher Gore, an Oscar nomination for his screenplay. Now, many of the same plot points (from a sleazy audition to a near suicide in New York subway station) make the new grade but with little details changed here and there. The biggest and most unfortunate difference would be the issues the kids are facing when they’re aren’t in class. While coming to terms with your sexuality may almost be clichéd nowadays, it was pretty poignant stuff back then. Today, the kids only seem concerned with hooking up with either each other or an agent and making sure that Mom and Dad don’t hate them for the choices they’ve made. And with only tiny amounts of screen time allotted to each character, their problems seem like minor annoyances rather than insurmountable obstacles.


FAME, then and now, misses the mark for me on the most important thing about it – the performances. The players are talented; that isn’t the trouble. The director, first time feature filmmaker, Kevin Tancharoen, just never gives them enough time to show it off. The random moments here and there never come close to an entire episode of “So You Think Can Dance” as far as the “wow” factor is concerned. And if I am not there to admire all the amazing feats that I can only dream of doing from the comfort of the groove in my living room couch, then I’m not really sure why I’m there at all. Insipid teenage problems are not worth my time unless they are accompanied by breathtaking lifts apparently. I mean no offence but that is the price of fame.

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Definitely, Maybe (2008)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Comedy

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher

Will (Reynolds) is a divorcee and his daughter Maya (Breslin) has recently received sex-education at a very premature age. Bursting with questions, one thing leads to another and Will ends up narrating her his love-life prior to her birth. He changes all the character names in his story so that Maya cant know which one is her mom. The story goes on to narrate Will's juggling love-live with Summer (Weisz), April (Fisher) and Emily (Banks). The movie is very simple and neat and unlike other romance movies, isn't loaded with sex and lame teen jokes. Very few movies base the story on a daughter-father relationship. It reflects to some extent, the typical urban American lifestyle. Ryan Reynolds nicely manages to switch roles between a college graduate, lover, to-be husband and a father. A movie that might just appeal to everyone and to some extent even to the romance hating ones.

Thumbs up: Clean and neat storyline, good performance
Thumbs down: Light humour would've been appreciated

Rating: 7.4/10

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Black Sheep Is Seeing Stars!

Every time I sit down to write a review, I have to come up with a letter grade to sum the entire thing up when I'm done. My reviews are often anywhere between 300 and 1000 words and that is completely reduced to just one letter with a + or a - after it. Ultimately, I felt it was taking away from the review itself so I'm doing away with grades. I mean, do I think I'm a professor or something?

From here on in, Black Sheep is looking to the stars. One, two, three, four, five - no halves or in betweens. Just stars, less restrictive and more rewarding. Sure, I still have to sum up my review into one of five categories but by simplifying the whole thing, I'm hoping that the reviews themselves will be given more say.

Here is how the stars work ...

5 STARS ... Excellent! Brilliant! I loved it!

4 STARS ... Very good. Solid entertainment.

3 STARS ... Good but not great ... Some problems but still enjoyable ... Not bad, if you will.

2 STARS ... Some redeeming qualities but watch at your own risk. Passable but just.

1 STAR ... You suck! Or as Sheldon might say, "Bah-ah-ah-ah-d!"

All the ratings for all the previous reviews have been updated. Some have even been adjusted now that some time has passed. In honour of the new system, Black Sheep gives you the 20 five-star reviews dating back to the beginning.

ATONEMENT

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

THE DARK KNIGHT

THE DEPARTED

DISTRICT 9

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS)

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK

HUNGER

JUNO

MATCH POINT

MILK

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

ONCE

THE QUEEN

RATATOUILLE

SIN NOMBRE

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE

UNITED 93

WALL-E

Enjoy ... and if all goes well, maybe you can be my lucky star!

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Gladiator (2000)

Genre: Action/Drama/History/Adventure

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Djimon Honsou

The Romans conquered almost all of Europe. They wanted to free the world of barbarians and bring about civilisation. What they didn't realise is that there lifestyle was quite barbarous itself. Maximus (Corwe) a general serving the Roman Army, was chosen to be successor by its then ruler Marcul Aurelius. This did not go down well with his Marcus Aurelius' son Commodus (Phoenix) who murdered his own father. Marcus was banished from the empire and became a slave. His fighting skills brought him under the ownership of an entertainer, who made him a gladiator to fight within the Colosseum at Rome. The people of Rome loved him and he soon won the heart of the mob and of Lucilla (Nielson) Commodus' sister. Maximus was a noble servant of Rome, and wanted to end the era of monarchy and make Rome a republic once more. He only wanted to fulfill the wish of deceased king, whom he honoured and loved. The Romans lived for honour, and that was brought out well in the movie. The good part was that the character of Maximus was not shown as an invincible hero, with insane fighting abilities and the power to do anything. The movie on the other hand lacked the inspirational feel and felt a tad too lose. A more heightened climax would have helped to a certain extent.

Thumbs up: Russell Crowe, character costumes
Thumbs down: Needs a bit more drama and energy

Rating: 7.9/10

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Black Sheep Previews: UP IN THE AIR

You might have seen this already but I wanted to throw it up here as I had the chance to catch the whole thing at TIFF last week. Director, Jason Reitman, has only made three feature films to date - JUNO and THANK YOU FOR SMOKING before this - and his latest, UP IN THE AIR, proves that he is a director with a clear vision and a concise approach to storytelling. His pictures are always crisp and clean and, while that may turn off some looking for rougher edges, I find it only allows for the details and the subtleties to break through.

UP IN THE AIR stars George Clooney as a modern day nomad. He has a one-bedroom apartment in Omaha but he ordinarily spends less than 50 days a year there. His home lies somewhere between the airports he flies to and the hotels he stays in. Clooney brings his own life into the picture for this eternal bachelor character and the supporting cast - Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick and Jason Bateman - are all excellent characters unto themselves, hence redefining the term "supporting".

UP IN THE AIR will certainly generate a lot of buzz this coming awards season and rightfully so. Look for it in theatres this December.

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Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Take an Umbrella

There was plenty of action in the Top 5 this week at the box office with four new titles taking up four of the five spots. Only one of these titles was actually successful though. Breaking Sony Animation’s record for best opening day on Friday with $8.1 million, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS went on to capture the weekend and the honour of third largest September opening ever (behind SWEET HOME ALABAMA and RUSH HOUR). Audiences were starved for family entertainment and they certainly filled up on this one. I would expect many second helpings in the weeks to come.


Toronto International Film Festival titles, THE INFORMANT! and JENNIFER’S BODY went wide this week. Steven Soderbergh’s second picture this year has earned some serious Oscar buzz for star, Matt Damon, and rightfully so. Sadly, this was not enough to drum up a lot of interest at the box office with a tepid $10 million start. Megan Fox tried to break past her TRANSFORMER association and as it turns out, people don’t really care about her unless she is surrounded by metal – even when the film title specifically refers to her most intriguing asset. The only other festival title to hit general theatres was Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR, starring Oscar hopeful, Abbie Cornish. It too saw a similar reception to THE INFORMANT!, pulling in an average of only $10K per screen – solid but not stellar.


In other box office news, Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Echkart fizzled in fourth with LOVE HAPPENS. Tyler Perry’s I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF stumbled 57% in its second week, pretty much on par with all of Perry’s previous directorial efforts. And Quentin Tarantino’s INGLORIOUS BASTERDS surpassed PULP FICTION in terms of gross to become the biggest domestic hit of his career.

NEXT WEEK: They’re hoping you remember their name as FAME remakes its way onto 3000+ screens. Bruce Willis goes sci-fi with SURROGATES (2700 screens). PANDORUM will try to scare the crap out of everyone on 2500 screens. And two more TIFF titles, Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY and Steve Hicks’s THE BOYS ARE BACK with Oscar hopeful, Clive Owen have their platform debuts.

Source: Box Office Mojo

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Black Sheep @ TIFF 2009!

And here it is - the last day of the Toronto International Film Festival. The winner of the Cadillac prize for favorite audience film has been announced and I am happy to say that it is PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE. Now a lot of people have speculated that PRECIOUS might win but these same people are just as quick to point out that no film this year has captured the hearts of filmgoers like last year's winner, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, which we all know went on to dominate awards season and take the Best Picture Oscar. The first time I ever saw SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was actually at TIFF last year and I if you read my blog at all, you pretty much know how I feel about all the love people bathed that movie in. I had told myself that I wouldn't talk about it anymore but apparently, as a lot of you out there haven't gotten over it yet, I must. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was an audience favorite because it was contrived and constructed to manipulate sympathy out of its audience and that ending with that fantastic closing credits dance sequence was designed to leave you feeling damn good as you tapped your feet to "Jai Ho" on your way out. Again, I reiterate that I don't hate the Danny Boyle film; in fact, I did like it. I just don't think it deserved its Best Picture win. As for PRECIOUS, it may not have connected with audiences the way SLUMDOG did but this one floors people in a way that SLUMDOG never could. Lee Daniels's film is honest, brave and unflinching and it features some of the most revelatory performances of the year. This TIFF win will mean Oprah can stay home a little more because it is now guaranteed to get noticed as its November release date approaches.


I have one more movie to catch before the festival ends this evening, Jason Reitman's follow-up to JUNO, UP IN THE AIR, starring George Clooney. If you don't mind, I'm keeping that one to myself. I'm not taking notes and I'm not even going to review it until its actual theatrical release, this December. No, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it. Well, I hope to enjoy it. Whether I do or not, I will be sitting back anyway.


In the meantime, I will share my final TIFF experience with you. To talk about this experience, I need to talk about an experience from when I was 14 years old. It was spring and I can't recall how I convinced my mother to let me do this; I'm sure there must have been some lying involved but regardless, I somehow ended up getting her to drive me to the theatre so that I could catch Madonna's documentary about her Blonde Ambition tour, TRUTH OR DARE. It was the middle of the day and the audience was pretty bare, save for me, a couple of other male-male pairings and some random creepy old men spaced out across the theatre. Today, I caught TRUTH OR DARE for free outdoors in Dundas Square. There weren't too many people there - me, all by myself, and then a few other couples or small groups of gay guys and a few old men. At the time, the film by Alex Keshishian was not taken too seriously by the general population but critics considered it to be one of the stronger documentaries that year and were generally surprised when it didn't get any Oscar love. I haven't seen the film in at least four or five years and it is just as I remember it - an intimate portrayal of one of the world's biggest superstars with a persistent seed of doubt in regards to its authenticity throughout. The black and white backstage footage makes the contrasting color concert footage explode off the screen and allows Madonna to show why it is people have put up with her all these years - because she knows how to push people and she is one hell of a performer.


Of course the most ironic thing about watching it in Dundas Square, downtown Toronto, was when the scene in which Madonna plays Toronto came on and she is almost arrested for lewd behavior. Apparently, guests from the night before complained that when Madonna simulated masturbation on stage during "Like a Virgin", they were offended, and the police were there to inform her that if she did it again, she would be arrested. Now, here I am, 18 years later watching Madonna simulate that same masturbation number under a brilliant blue sky in the epicenter of Toronto where anyone and their children could walk by and watch for free. Oh, how the times have changed.

Thank you so much for following Black Sheep's TIFF coverage. I saw a lot of great movies and got a lot of great response from you. I'm a lucky guy just to be here and having had the opportunity to enjoy such great films surrounded by so many other great film admirers. Before I go, here is a full list of all Black Sheep's TIFF reviews one last time. Just click to read ...

AGORA

THE BOYS ARE BACK

BROKEN EMBRACES

CREATION

THE DAMNED UNITED

THE INFORMANT!

LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE

LE REFUGE

A SERIOUS MAN

THE UNLOVED

WHIP IT

THE YOUNG VICTORIA

YOUTH IN REVOLT

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Black Sheep TIFF Review: THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Period pieces about royalty can often play out like chess games. The board is set as it always is with elaborately costumed pieces and these pieces are moved one by one into battle. Each piece moves in a specific fashion that is dictated by the rules of the game and cannot deviate from that plan. Experienced players know how to make this quiet game exciting while others move the pieces in predictable fashions toward an end that cannot come sooner. Sadly, Jean-Marc Vallee’s The Young Victoria is so conventional that he even has his young queen, played by Emily Blunt, playing an uneventful game of chess at one point. I swear, I thought up the metaphor before that though.


After delivering an incredible debut, C.R.A.Z.Y., in 2005, Vallee caught the attention of the international film scene. How else could he snag talent like Blunt or more importantly, executive producers like Martin Scorsese or Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York? What he put together though never rises above the level of functional. Victoria is a naïve but determined monarch. Naturally, every one around her, with either political or royal ties, wants to take advantage of her lack of experience. Victoria must reach into the crowd of hands constantly grabbing at her to take the one that she can trust. She can’t seem to figure out which one that is but it was pretty obvious from where I was sitting.


Blunt, who actually skips here and there to remind us that she really is a very young queen, does what she can with the part but to her detriment, screenwriter, Julian Fellowes, gives her very little to develop. Dress her up as fancy as you like, we’ve all seen this before and The Young Victoria becomes a reminder that Vallee is pretty young himself when it comes to directing.

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Up (3D) (2009)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Drama/Comedy

Starring (voiceover): Edward Asner, Cristopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

Up forms a part of the current crop of 3D animated movies hitting cinemas. Two small kids Carl and Ellie share a common passion for adventure. They soon get married and live a happy life. Years pass by and their dream of having a house on Paradise Falls, South America remains unfulfilled. Soon after Ellies death, Carl (Asner) decides to fulfill Ellie's last wish and converts his house into a giant flying thing, by tying together thousands of helium filled balloons and takes off into the sky. To accompany him, he has Russell (Nagai) an over-enthusiastic wilderness boy scout who simply wanted to help Carl cross the road and win himself a badge, but lands up becoming a part of his maniacal adventure and Doug (Peterson) a dog with a talking collar, who is a part of a pack of strays belonging to the ex-explorer Charles Muntz (Plummer) who is currently in South America searching for a rare bird since years to prove its existence to the world. After watching a 3D movie after probably years, i was left a little disappointed overall. Apart from just adding some amount of clarity, the 3D effect was seem to have been added simply as a marketing strategy and attract more viewers. Lift your glasses and watch the regular version and its just as good. The movie was a little slow to start, but the moment his house took off, you knew the actual movie has now begun. The movie was never meant to make you laugh, an essential for all animation movies according to me, but it makes up with an amazing adventure packed and thrilling tale that might just leave you teary-eyed in the end.

Thumbs up: Nice story, character detailing
Thumbs down: 3D is pointless

Rating: 7.6/10

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Transporter 3 (2008)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Francois Berleand, Robert Knepper

The third installment in the Transporter series, Frank (Statham) is doing his usual business; transporting goods in his brand new black Audi and no questions asked. Like all movies, this time too the goods is human. A freckle-faced Ukranian girl, Valentina (Rudakova) whose father is a minister of environmental protection to be precise. Johnson (Knepper) wants Valentina's father to allow his ships carrying toxic wastes to dock. If not, then Valentina would die. Frank has to transport Valentina across Europe and just to be sure, Valentina and Frank are tied metal devices on their wrist which will blow up if the get further than 75 feet from the car. Part three is no different from any of the earlier versions, only difference being his client, the cargo and the car. What doesn't die out however, is Jason Statham's complicated fist maneuvers which makes this movie different from other action movies. It has its own set of insane and out-of-this-world stunts, but that's what the movie is entirely relying on. If you want to watch this movie to see what is different in it, then there is nothing. The only reason to watch it is the pure love for action.

Thumbs up: Amazing bare-fist action
Thumbs down: Nothing different from its predecessors

Rating: 6.0/10

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Blow (2001)

Genre: Crime/Drama

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Paul Reubens, Jordi Molla

All dope movies seem to be the same. Telling you not to dope and what happens when you do too much of dope. When you see Johnny Depp in the star cast, you know for sure that there is something very different in this movie. Based on a true life story of George Jung (Depp) a small time drug dealer, that later went on to become one of America's biggest cocaine dealer. His parents kept fighting with each other since there was no money in the family. He promised himself that such a day would never come in his life, hence he took the easy way and started selling dope on the streets of California with the help of a gay supplier Derek (Reubens). He went on to marry Martha (Cruz) but things never worked out for them due to his regular jail visits and his inability to give up the dope. The movie in the end focuses on family ties and relations and the miserable state George is now left in. The movie doesn't try beating around the bush, nor does it get too deep and psychological. Just keep it plain and simple.

Thumbs up: Johnny Depp and the entire star cast
Thumbs down: Johnny Depp's horrible hair style

Rating: 7.3/10

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Philadelphia (1993)

Genre: Drama

Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Antonio Banderas

Once in a while you come across a movie after which your loss for words. Simply writing a review and trying to make someone explain the sheer brilliance of the movie is not worth it. Andrew Beckett (Hanks) is a supreme lawyer working at a very reputed law firm. All of a sudden he gets sacked for incompetence and negligence. Andrew is convinced that he was removed because he is a homosexual and has contracted AIDS. He hires Joe Millers (Washington) a previously rival lawyer, to represent him in the court of law and sue his employers for firing him for the wrong reasons. Many duplicates of this movie were made in multiple languages and countries world over, but none were as successful as the original. The only explanation for this, is the brilliant Hanks-Washington unbeatable on-screen performance. Stop reading this review and go watch it if you havent.

Thumbs up: Amazing courtroom scenes
Thumbs down: Zilch, zero

Rating: 8.1/10

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Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Genre: Thriller/Crime/Fantasy/Mystery/Action/Horror

Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland

As soon as the movie kicks off, you feel as if your watching the trailer of a horror flick that badly went wrong which slowly turns into the impression that your about to watch a horror spoof and eventually you realise that the movie is very serious on scaring you. Freddy (Eglund) was a child serial killer, who was burnt alive by protesting parents. Now in hell, he gains his power from the fear that people have for him. Over time, the people of Springwood have eradicated this fear by using drugs and medicines. Four years later, Freddy resurrects Jason (Kirzinger) to kill some more people and make them fear him once more. However, Jason goes a little overboard with his killing and Freddy decides to stop him and finish him off for good. In the midst of all this brutal killing are caught teens Lori (Keena), Will (Ritter) and Kia (Rowland) who have watched their friends die and go all out to end this massacre. The movie has some very gory and bloody scenes. Although it has the 'horror' tag attached to it, the movie hardly makes you flinch and that comes from someone who cannot stand horrors at all. The first half makes you wonder why you've even bothering with it, but give it some time and the movie manages to gain your interest. Definitely not meant for someone looking for thrills and shivers.

Thumbs up: Good action, although gory
Thumbs down: Bad attempt at being scary

Rating: 6.0/10

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District 9 (2009)

Genre: Documentary/Science-fiction/Action/Thriller

Starring: Sharlto Copley

There is a stark difference between making a documentary and making a movie. What happens when a hybrid of the two occurs i.e. 'a purposeful or fake documentary'? An alien mother ship enters earth and halts atop Johannesburg, South Africa. The million-odd aliens from within the spaceship are rescued and are given housing accommodation in District 9, Johannesburg. Over two decades pass, the housing soon becomes an alien slum, with the aliens feasting off trash like scavengers. Human tolerance levels fall, and people start protesting against the aliens and want them out of the city. Vikus Van De Merwe (Copley) is an officer working at MNU, an arms manufacturing company. His company has been contracted with the assignment of forcibly evicting the aliens to a new a location and Vikus is the field operator in-charge. During his eviction spree, he gets exposed to alien fluid which slowly starts altering his bodies genetics and transforms him into an alien. He suddenly becomes the most sough-after individual on the planet, since alien weaponry can only be used by someone who has the aliens DNA. He befriends an alien, Cristopher Johnson and has a deal with him. The alien will make him human again, only if he can get hold of the fluid, currently in MNU labs and escape from earth. The movie wonderfully creates an almost real-life visual, with in-between interviews with alien specialist. One actually comes close to believing that the incident did actually take place, but was kept closely under wraps. It gives a whole documentary feel to it, but keeps switching to 'movie mode' every now and then. Almost anyone would today scoff at the idea of 'alien rights', but the movie makes you realise that if such a day would arrive for human beings, what sort of an ugly scenario might befall us. Although the movie moves very slow, it is still a very interesting watch, simply because it is very different from conventional movie making concepts.

Thumbs Up: Combo of documentary and movie
Thumbs Down: A bit slow, gory scenes

Rating: 7.4/10

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A History of Violence (2005)

Genre: Drama/Crime

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris

Tom Stall (Mortensen) is leading a happy life with a well-settled diner in a small American town. He has no reasons to complain and is loving the way things are going until an incident at his diner brought him into the media spotlight. After his new found fame, Carl Fogarty (Harris) decides to pay him a visit. Fogarty knew Tom as Joey Cusack, an ex-mafia henchman and starts inviting him back to his old life at Philadelphia. Tom is content with the life he has and doesn't want the secret of his past get to his family. He tries avoiding it by lying to his wife Edie (Bello) and his kids, but realises he cant hide the truth for very long. The movie is plain boring and seems to pointlessly wander around with no real objective. It makes you wonder why you actually even bothered with it. I expected some sort of twist in the end which would change his life forever but was sorely disappointed.

Thumbs up: Viggo Mortensen
Thumbs down: Bland and boring

Rating: 4.9/10

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Bad Boys II (2003)

Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jordi Molla, Gabrielle Union

Not in sequence with the previous movie, Mike (Smith) and Marcus (Lawrence) are cops belonging to the Tactical Narcotics Team of the Miami Police Department. Drug lord Johnny Tapia (Molla) is transporting drugs from Cuba in dead bodies and coffins and the cop duo have to bust his racket. Only this time, Marcus' sister Syd (Union) turns out to be an undercover cop working for the DEA who is also on the tail of Johnny Tapia. The movie is filled with the same black humour, and seems to carry forward the same style and rhythm that prevailed in the earlier movie in spite of having an 8 year gap between them. There is more adrenaline rushing action this time, which seems to play a more important role, rather than having a sensible story line. Considering the amount of cars they've trashed, buildings blasted and people killed, they look more apt for the SWAT team rather than an anti-narcotic team. A definite improvement over the earlier movie, but still way past the mark.

Rating: 7.0/10

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Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien.... (1991)

Genre: Thriller/Comedy/Spoof

Starring(voice): James Riffel

Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead Part 2: In Shocking 2-D. That, is the entire screen name of the movie, and it also holds the record for the longest movie name ever. The sole reason to watch this movie is this factor only. The movie is a spoof of George Romero's 1968 classic horror Night of the Living Dead. The sound and dialogues have been removed and replaced with James Riffel's own voices. All characters in the movie have been voiced by him, including the police dogs. Quite obviously, the dialogues are stupid and nonsensical and don't add to the movie in any way. A group of people get trapped inside a house one night, when hordes of zombies are freely marching on land, threatening to eat up everyone. The movie is constantly interrupted by 'Profiles in History' which are short clips on pointless trivia about a historical person. Another interruption is some person holding a card apologising to George Romero for insulting his masterpiece. All criticisms aside, simply wiping out all dialgoues and replacing them with something insanely stupid, is a very tough job by itself. The movie is definitely not worth even a single watch, but if the title length still nags you to watch it, then please go ahead and don't say nobody warned you.

Rating: 4.8/10

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Bad Boys (1995)

Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Tea Leoni

Mike (Smith) and Marcus (Lawrence) are police officers working in the narcotics division of the Miami Police Department. A load of confiscated heroin from the police quarters get stolen and Mike and Marcus are assigned the case to bring it back. Julie (Leoni) is a police witness who sees the thieves that stole the dope, murder her best friend. To save her life, she is put into protective custody with Marcus. A case of switched identity is the highlight of the entire movie and adds to the comical factor. The focus is little on crime and more about the stupid antics of the cop duo. There really isn't too much in the movie to watch out for. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence make a good pair, and their stupid black humour is probably the only to thing to watch in the movie. Tea Leoni though, looks gorgeous, and considering the fact that the movie is over fifteen years old, its not a big surprise.

Rating: 6.6/10

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Igor (2008)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Fantasy/Science-fiction

Starring (voice): John Cusack, Jay Leno, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard

In the peaceful and prosperous town of Malaria, everything is well until a dramatic climate change alters citizens' life for over. King Malbert (Leno) announces an annual competition, where scientists can make evil inventions of mass destruction and the most destructive of all will be pronounced the winner. This was to be one of his ways of improving the economy. Any person who has some kind of deformity, is made to become an Igor. They are to be slaves and perceived as someone stupid and lacking intelligence. A certain Igor (Cusack) serving Dr. Glickenstein (Cleese) is quite smart, and when an experiment kills his master, he takes over his masters dream of making the most destructive monster. Being an animation movie, it is supposed to appeal to young kids. However, even my nine-year-old brother gave up just half way through. The movie doesn't incorporate any comical elements and becomes plain boring. Animation and special effects are up to the mark, but don't really help in making the movie any more appealing. Igor's sidekicks, Scamper, the immortal bunny and Brain, are the only characters that actually try to make you laugh.

Rating: 5.5/10

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Valkyrie (2008)

Genre: War/Crime/Drama

Starring: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson

Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany aka The Third Reich, bringer of the second world war. He strived hard to give Germany something it had never had before. Nobody doubted his love for his country, what they doubted were the means he was using to achieve his vision. Valkyrie narrates the failed attempt at Hitlers life. Apart from just re-telling the assassination, it brings out the point that even within high-ranking officials within the Nazi Party, many would rather see him dead, not to bring power in their own hands, rather to rid Germany of Hitler altogether. Colonel Stauffenberg (Cruise) is said to have headed the 15th known attempted at Hitler's life along with General Olbricht (Nighy) and a host of other top-ranking Nazi generals and officers. The only focus throughout the movie is on the assassination, and there are no unwanted side-stories to fill in time. The only flaw in this movie that one can remove is the multi-national star cast, whose fluent English in strong American and British accents, do not give a 'German' feel to the movie. More use of the German language with a German star cast, playing lead roles would probably have helped the movie a lot.

Rating: 8.1/10

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Gulaal (2009)

Genre: Crime/Drama

Starring: Kay Kay Menon, Ayesha Mohan, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Abhimanyu Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Jesse Randhawa

Dirty politics. Dirty, stinking politics. Dirty, stinking, rotten politics. Dileep (Chaudhary) an innocent young man, comes to Jodhpur to further his education. He gets ragged by Jadwal and his goons along with his lecturer Anuja (Randhawa). Dileep's roommate Ransa (Singh) makes him retaliate against them but of no avail. Dukey Bana (Menon) a powerful local figure and revolutionist, wants a free Rajputana and wants to go against the very idea of democracy. Dukey Bana intervenes the battle and offers Ransa to stand for the college General Secretary's post. Against Ransa, Kiran (Mohan) fights for the same seat. With Ransa appearing as the apparent winner, Karan (Srivastava) Kiran's brother and Ransa's illegitimate brother kills Ransa. Dileep is made to replace Ransa and becomes General Secretary. Dileep is still new to the idea of politics, and gets mislead along the way, causing him to take some unpopular decisions and tie alliances with people whom Dukey Bana doesn't approve of. The movie has an interesting soundtrack and the lyrics if closely listened to, offer a lot meaning and maybe even a laugh or two. The characters in the movie did justice to their roles which seems to come from within. The lack of any big star presence in the movie did not become its weak point. The movie rightfully portrays each and every persons own hunger and greed for money and power. Anurag Kashyap also does away with gory and bloody scenes, that his earlier movie Black Friday was criticised of. Perhaps if it wasn't for a few over-dramatised scenes, the movie would've been a more pleasant watch.

Rating: 7.7/10

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His Girl Friday (1940)

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy

The movie portrays the environment prevailing in the journalism and newspaper industry during World War II. Newspaper editors would go to any length to create news and to keep it from falling in the hands of rivals. Walter Burns (Grant) is the editor of The Morning Post. Hildy (Russell) is an ex-journalist at The Morning Post and Walters ex-wife. One day when Hildy pays a visit to Walter to announce her wedding to Bruce (Bellamy) Walter smooth-talks Hildy to come back and interview a convict about to be hanged as one last task for the paper before she resigns for good. Hildy on the other, knows every trick in the book and knows exactly what is going on behind Walters mind. The convict however, manages to escape after the interview and causes a whole lot of confusion for the police, the mayor and the journalists. Cary Grant does a brilliant piece of acting, typical of a classic American actor. He is probably the only reason the movie dosen't feel like one big drag. The movie did create box office ripples when it was released, but unlike other classics, doesn't appeal to audiences of today. The movie has a lot of dialogues over lapping each other, characters talking fast-paced and before the other person finishes, giving a very life-like feel and journalist feel. Although the movie is classified as a comedy, it hardly makes you smile and the jokes would not actually make sense to people of today, as they are direct insults of the events happening during the war.

Rating: 5.0/10

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