Flags of our Fathers (2006)

Genre: War/Action/Drama/History/Biography

Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Neal McDonough, Thomas McCarthy

Can a single photograph change the course of world events? Not likely, but for US Marines Ira Hayes (Beach), Rene Gagnon (Bradford) and John Bradley (Phillepe) it certainly did. Set in WWII, USA is launching an attack on Japan and needs to capture the island of Iwo Jima. Most of the movie narrates the occurrences on the island and gradual advancement of the troops. The marines planted the US flag atop a mountain on the island and a photograph taken at the correct time reached the mainland and the press in no time. Three marines who survived from those that planted the flag were recalled back to USA to market war bonds in the effort to fund the countries war efforts. The US treasury was empty and dollar had lost any value it ever had. The country cannot borrow anymore and hence is trying to sell bonds to the citizens and hopes that the photograph along with the presence of the three marine officers would aid the sale. The movie comes from Clint Eastwood and anyone familiar with his recent movies would quickly identify the style to be very similar to its other movies. The movie is a directors delight and has a lot of appeal and insight. It smartly weaves multiple plot lines together without making a mess and keeping audience attention intact. One of the better war movies of this age and a superb watch.

Thumbs up: Phenomenal direction and acting

Thumbs down: The story lacks variation and seems to show the same thing over and over again

Rating: 7.6/10

readmore »»  

All the King's Men (2006)

Genre: Drama/Biography

Starring: Sean Penn, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, Jackie Earle Haley

Loosely based on Huey Long, Governor of the state of Louisiana, Willie Stark (Penn) worked as a small-town lawyer and was roped by the local political muscle, Tiny Duffy (Gandolfini) to run for governor. What Stark didn't know was that he was being fooled and he wasn't supposed to win. Upon learning of Duffy's ambitions he decides to run as Governor by himself and wins by a landslide. He reached to the poor and promised to uplift them from poverty and was against well-settled city people enjoying all the benefits, much to the ire of large oil companies. Jack Burden (Law) a noted journalist from an elitist family, became Stark's advisor in spite of being advised against taking the position by everyone around him. Stark was accused of creating public services but secretly using them to rob the state of taxpayers money to keep for himself. With these accusations against him, Stark was brought forward for impeachment in the senate and wanted Jack's god-father, Judge Irwin (Hopkins) to be on his side rather than against. Sean Penn is a brilliant adaptive actor which can be seen from Milk and this movie. His role as the Governor, bringing the correct accent and character and the fabulous performances were show-stealing. Not just his but the rest of the cast, including Law, put on fabulous performances and supported his character in every way. With such a line-up its not wrong to keep expectations high but its very wrong when these expectations fall to the ground. The story and plot execution is weak, the movie is very slow and can get a bit boring at times. Mostly its Stark's heavy accent that makes it hard to grasp the developments in the movie, but other elements of storyline also come into play in downplaying the movie greatly. The amazing performances seem to have no outcome whatsoever and the slow progress makes it very dull and boring.

Thumbs up: Strong performances

Thumbs down: Very dull, too slow

Rating: 5.8/10

readmore »»  

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

Genre: Documentary/Musical/Drama/Biography

Starring: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Bob Rock, Phil Towle

The world most popular heavy metal band, Metallica were facing a crisis and were at an all time low in their career during the year 2001. The band hasn't toured in three years and just as the band was about to regroup for their 8th album, bassist Jason Newstead decided to quit the band. Newstead was apparently unhappy about the direction in which the band was heading and was unhappy that band leader James Hetfield wasn't allowing Jason to undertake side projects. Hetfield himself was battling drug and alcohol abuse and went into rehabilitation just months after the band started recording. Hetfield was away for over a year and drummer Lars Ulrich along with lead guitarist Kirk Hammett were annoyed with his continued absence. The band had previously hired a therapist, Phil Towle with whose help they wanted to get over their differences, improve performance and get rid of all the negativity. The band started recording once Hetfield returned and band producer Bob Rock filled in as bassist for the album recording until a new bassist, Robert Trujillo, was taken on the band. Metallica has ever since risen out from the ashes and retain their No.1 spot till this day. The documentary focuses on intra-band disagreements, the verge of the band breaking up, their battle with Napster, the making of St. Anger, selection of Trujillo and the eventual album release. It focuses on most of the core areas that any fan would want to know about Metallica and clearly reveals all the ups and downs that the band went through. Dont be mistaken that the movie is only for metal-heads. Apart from the blaring music that would smack a smile on the die-hard fans face, any other person would appreciate the movie and revelation of the functioning of a band. A must watch for fans and a recommended for anyone else.

Thumbs up: Great portrayal of every aspect, personal as well as professional, of each band member

Thumbs down: A boring 2nd part after a strong start and an equally strong end.

Rating: 7.4/10

readmore »»  

The Drity Picture (2011)

Genre: Drama/Musical/Biography/Romance

Starring: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma

Does sex sell? Well at least India's queen of melodramatic soap operas intends to find that out. A true-life story of a south Indian porn star, the movie explores how sex was used, and might still be used, to sell a movie. Ironically the movie itself employs conservative Vidya Balan to shed everything that covers her to add enough oomph to the movie to make it more appealing to audiences. Reshma aka Silk (Balan) aspired to be in the movies and ran away from home to head towards Madras where she aspired to realise her dreams. Film producer Selvaganesh (Sharma) discovers her and her willingness to reveal everything on screen and decides to feature her in some songs opposite the super-star of south Indian cinema, Suryakant (Shah). Surya is notorious for his affairs with young aspiring actresses and satisfies his sexual desires with Silk who in the meantime gets a lot of movie offers due to her 'friendship' with Surya. Contemporary director Abraham (Hashmi) wants to reach Hollywood and hates using sexuality and added 'spice' to sell the movie. Although he makes fabulous films that win him awards, it does not get him any money at the box office. Suryakants brother Ramakant (Kapoor) is attracted to Silk after a fallout between his brother and her and romances her. The movie aspired to shatter Indian mainstream cinema with Balan's three-inch-deep-cleavage with truckloads of sex and vulgarity to reveal the inside on-goings of the industry. Sadly the only focus of the movie seems to be Balan and every other characters presence being very rigid and structured. Enter, do your bit, and move out of the script all together. Since the focus has been on Vidya Balan throughout, her transformation from rags to riches has been shown with a good evolution. Even her appearance, gradual weight-gain, and puff on her right cheek were taken care of and shown with subtlety. If its Balans navel and exposed thighs that you aspire then the movie beckons for you, else go watch something else.

Thumbs up: Vidya Balan and the focus on her character, Awesome dialogues add humour

Thumbs down: Poor piecing together of the plot, poor supporting cast performance, predictable and a bit boring

Rating: 5.6/10

readmore »»  

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Genre: History/Biography/War/Action/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Martin Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Alexander Siddig

Recounting the heavily fictionalised tale of Balian of Ibelin (Bloom) a French blacksmith who journeys to Jerusalem after meeting his estranged father. He forgives his fathers mistakes and in return is knighted by him just before he dies. Balian arrives in Jerusalem at the court of King Baldwin IV(Norton) and serves the king just like his father would. Jerusalem being the holy city for both Muslims and Christians, it was subject to heavy war with both sides trying to gain control over it. King Baldwin does not believe in anti-Muslim killings and hence does not support the Knights Templar that kills Muslims mercilessly and hence peace prevails. The Kings sister Sybilla (Green) is married to Guy de Lusignan (Csokas) who is waiting for the leprosy stricken King to succumb and hence become king of Jerusalem and kill all the Muslims. The movie recounts the true incidents that took place during the Crusades of the 12th century and recalls the story of Balian of Ibelin although it may not be historically accurate. Coming from the stable of Ridley Scott, the very man that gave us Gladiator and American Gangster, the movie is a very big let down. There is no visible plot for quite a bit and the plot development is slow and boring. Edward Norton's performance was a waste especially since he was forever behind a mask. Orlando Bloom failed to live up to the expectations of creating an exciting movie and story in general was extremely immature and predictable. A very typical medieval heroism movie that probably should never have been made.

Thumbs up: Nothing exceptionally stands out

Thumbs down: Orlando Bloom, story and execution

Rating: 6.3/10

readmore »»  

Two for the Money (2005)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Sports/Biography

Starring: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo

Brandon Lang (McConaughey) is a football professional who had to taken an early retirement due to a career-ending injury. He started advising people on the kind of bets they should put on football games due to his intense knowledge of the players and their strategies. His high and consistent accuracy rate got the attention of Walter (Pacino) a New York based betting adviser, one of the largest in the country, who trains him and shows him how he could put his skills to better use. He creates a fake identity of John Anthony who is the slick, sharp and confident New Yorker as against the more bland and sober Brandon. Brandon slowly climbs the career graph were money, woman and all the sins of the world are easily thrown at his feet. The movie kicks off on a decently high note, but as it progresses further, it soon becomes evident that it is another rags to riches story where money does more harm than good and the inevitable downfall. The movie is based on the true life story of a certain Brandon Lang who had experienced a similar life as depicted by John Anthony. The movie tries to bank upon Al Pacino who delivers the usual filthy-rich businessman who has no worry in the world and is shown to be super-smart and cunning. A pretty average movie that could have been far better.

Thumbs up: A good start, good adaptation of a real life story

Thumbs down: Predictable outcome, poor performances

Rating: 6.5/10

readmore »»  

King Arthur (2004)

Genre: History/Biography/War/Action/Adventure

Starring: Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Mads Mikkelsen, Joel Edgerton, Hugh Dancy, Ray Winstone, Ray Stevenson, Keira Knightly, Stephen Dillaine, Stellan Skarsgard

King Arthur (Owen) was a legendary hero that served the cause of the Britons. The genuineness of Arthur is unknown with many people attributing it to be based on the story of other unknown heroes. The Roman Empire covered most of Europe and stretched till Hadrian's Wall, a border that divides modern England and Scotland. This wall is guarded by Arthur and his elite knights with rumours having that they have never lost a battle. The knights are Roman by birth and loyal to Rome and are due to receive their freedom from active military service when Rome suddenly backs out on its initial agreement and orders Arthur and his knights to undertake one last perilous journey, north of the wall and rescue an important Roman family from being captured by the invading Saxons. The Saxons, headed by Cerdic (Skarsgard) were a barbaric tribe who wish to denounce the Romans out of their land. The knights reluctantly agree to undertake the mission in order to win their much awaited freedom. On the face of it, the plot looks much like any other medieval war movie of good being victorious over evil. The lines and dialogues are very typically over-dramatic, almost Shakespearean which makes the movie a tad boring and annoying. True that might have been the prevailing language and style used but its over-emphasis and extra usage is what makes it annoying. Nothing exceptional in this one but nothing too bad either.

Thumbs up: Good gripping climaxes and war scenes

Thumbs down: Boring dialogues and lines

Rating: 6.9/10

readmore »»  

The Devil's Double (2011)

Genre: Action/Crime/History/Biography/War/Drama

Starring: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast

Every world-renowned leader had to look after his own life and the best way to do so was to have body doubles. Exact twins right up to every small feature in order to deceive assassins. Uday Saddam Hussein (Cooper), the son of the Iraqi dictator too created body doubles to save his own precious life. Latif Yahia (Cooper) an Iraqi soldier and Uday's classmate back in school was forced to accept the proposition to become Uday's double. Uday Hussein was perhaps the most arrogant, shameless, immature and perverted person in all of Iraq. He kept multiple women as servants and slept with whomsoever he wished, regularly shot and killed people simply for the fun of it and raped and murdered school girls because he fancied doing it. Sarrab (Sagneir) one of Uday's whores, took a fancy for Latif and they both together shared their hatred for Uday and his behaviour. The movie solely stands on Dominic Cooper and his astounding, perfect and fine piece of acting. He fulfills two roles out of which one role is to play the part of learning how to play the other role. Its just what the doctor ordered for, my bet for at least one Oscar nominee this year.

Thumbs up: Dominic Cooper

Thumbs down: Story could be slightly more vibrant, its just too simple

Rating: 8.2/10

readmore »»  

Ben-Hur (1959)

Genre: Drama/Romance/History/Biography/Adventure

Starring: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Jack Hawkins

The tales of Jesus Christ, infused with the story of the Jewish Prince, Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) who got betrayed by his Roman childhood friend Messala (Boyd) for Judah supported the Jewish cause over the Roman one. Judah and his family, his sister Tirza (O'Donnell) and mother Miriam (Scott) were sent to the gallows by Messala to rot and die. Judah, in all his determination, vows to return and take Messala's life. He then gets thrown in a journey of slavery and travel to make his way back to Jerusalem where he once again encounters Messala and decides to stub the Roman arrogance once and for all. The movie is well renowned and popular, however, the entire storyline, in isolation, is quite simple and nothing out of the ordinary. Friendship that turned sour and revenge that was sworn. The attribute that made the movie better was the Roman-Jewish setup along with the background of Jesus Christ. Although the movie proclaims to be the tale of Jesus Christ, there is very little of him which majorly comes only toward the end. The movie is a lovely watch, with some very phenomenal performances. The movie has a unique blend of film noir along with some more contemporary performances which makes it even better.

Thumbs up: Great performances, good plot outline

Thumbs down: Stretched and long

Rating: 7.7/10

readmore »»  

Freedom Writers (2007)

Genre: Drama/Biogrpahy/History

Starring: Hillary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, April L. Hernandez, Mario, Jason Finn

The 1992 Los Angeles riots and gang wars created a deeper racist divide amongst people than it already was. The city got divided into territories and young teenagers who should be in school were instead carrying guns and were thirsty for the blood of rival gang members. Erin Gruwell (Swank) is newly appointed English teacher at the Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. The school was once a very prestigious institute which has now been downgraded because of the recent integration. Teenagers who come from criminal backgrounds and from juvenile jails are forced to attend school or face going back to prison. Erin realises that teaching them is not as easy as she thought it would be, especially when the students are not interested in learning from her and fights break out every now and then. The head of department Margaret Campbell (Staunton) refuses to allocate school resources to her because she thinks it would be a waste and the students would get nothing out of it. Gruwell goes against the tide to give her students a better life and teach them beyond what she set out to teach in the classroom. Hillary Swank has always been known to put on a fabulous performance and this movie is no different. Along with a very good support cast, the movie shines out tremendously and keeps you gripped in your seat for a very long time. A highly recommended watch for everyone.

Thumbs up: Brilliant performances

Thumbs down: Flawless

Rating: 8.4/10

readmore »»  

The Kings Speech (2010)

 

Genre: Biography/History/Drama

Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce

Britain, 1925, King George V is on his death-bed and the evaluation of the heirs begins. David, The Prince of Wales (Pearce) is the obvious choice for the throne since he is the elder brother. However, David has never involved himself in assisting his father in kingdom administration and has hence learnt nothing. He wishes to marry an American socialite who is twice divorced, an act prohibited for the king. Prince Albert (Firth) David's younger brother is more suitable for the throne but the only thorn being that he suffers from a stammering problem. With the growth of wireless radio technology, speeches given by the king are becoming more often and if the king cant talk, he cant be king. Princess Elizabeth (Carter) Prince Albert's wife, introduces him to a speech therapist Lionel Logue (Rush) whose unconventional and crazy methods of therapy don't go down well with the Prince. However, after much convincing Logue becomes the Prince's speech therapist who helps him in perfecting his speech and be made ready to become king. Its not everyday that a movie that seems to have a bland and uninspiring outlook manages to entice audiences to such a level. Colin Firth puts on a marvelous performance, something which everybody cant do for such a difficult role. A very gripping and inspiring story and each and every one of those Academy Awards was well-deserved.

Thumbs up: Colin Firth and other performances

Thumbs down: None

Rating: 8.4/10

readmore »»  

Unstoppable (2010)

Genre: Biography/Action

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson

Ohio, 2001, an unmanned, half-a-mile long train went on the lose due to an error on part of a hostler who jumped off the train to realign the tracks but the trains brakes malfunction and the locomotive picks up speed on full throttle. Unstoppable is based on this true-life incident, exaggerated, when one such train in Pennsylvania, carrying toxic chemicals escapes from the yard and hits the main line at the speed of 70mph. A veteran engineer Frank (Washington) and a rookie conductor Will (Pine) come to the rescue when Franks experience tells him that the only way to stop such a train is to grab it by the tail and apply the brakes. When all chances of derailment and slowing the train fail, Frank and Will link up with the train and attempt to slow it down. The movie has some very good high-intensive action which makes it into a very interesting watch for the action-lover. The overall plot was exaggerated than the actual events which were more sober and low-key. The trailer gives out the entire movie along with the climax, yet the movie is worth a watch simply for its phenomenal action sequences.

Thumbs up: Great action

Thumbs down: Predictable plot

Rating: 7.4/10

readmore »»  

Breach (2007)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Biography

Starring: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillipe, Laura Linney

FBI agent Robert Hanssen (Cooper) was suspected of selling US military secrets to the Soviet Union which caused heavy damages to American national security and compromised American allies. Along with that, he was also suspected of creating and uploading pornographic content on the internet. Eric O'Neil (Phillipe) an FBI computer specialist with little field experience is assigned the special task to become Hanssen's assistant and to gather evidence so that the FBI can take him down. During the course of this task, Eric learns to respect Robert for all the special and unique abilities he holds to the point that he thinks that he is innocent. He realises that things are not as easy as they seem to be when it starts disrupting his marriage and is quickly running out of team. Hanssens deeds have been said to be the biggest breach in US intelligence. The movie is slow and there are points where it can get boring. It lacks complete suspense and most of the movie revolves around the relationship between Hanssen and O'Neil. The movie needed to be spiced up with some thrills and suspense in order to fully enjoy it. A good movie which could have been better.

Thumbs up: Decent plot

Thumbs down: Slow, needs more enthusiasm

Rating: 6.5/10

readmore »»  

No One Killed Jessica (2011)

Genre: Biography/Drama/Crime

Starring: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukerji, Myra Karn, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub

The sensational Jessica Lal murder case rocked the Indian society back in 1999 and put a question mark on the countries judiciary, political and law enforcement system. Jessica (Karn) was an average Delhi girl who aspired to be a model. One night, Jessica was working in a bar and gets shot by Manish Bhardwaj (Ayub) simply because she refused to give him a drink. There were over 300 people who witnessed the cold-blooded murder and Manish along with his two friends, were subsequently arrested for the murder of Jessica Lall. Manish's father was an influential politician who used his power and money to bribe each and every witness to retract his/her statement and manipulate every possible evidence to point that Manish is innocent. Sabrina (Balan) Jessica's younger sister, aggressively pursues the case for seven long years when ultimately in Winter of 2006, the court lets Manish walk away. The decision shook the foundations of society and left the entire nation aghast. Meera (Mukerji) a renowned journalist was amazed by the outcome of the case and she too, like the million other Indians, knew that Manish was innocent and what was happening is not justice. The movie has managed to recreate the events quite nicely but Bollywood still needs to learn some lessons from Hollywood on portraying real life stories. Many names and incidents were changed or altered in order to be politically correct but it is an aspect that destroys good cinema. The movie is powerful with some good performances by Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji. The soundtrack too helps in keeping the powerful and aggressive spirit of the movie alive and would leave you with a good feeling after its over. A good watch which sends out a clear message to the audience to never give up and stand up against injustice and wrong-doing.

Thumbs up: Good performances and a nice aggressive feeling

Thumbs down: Stretched movie with some slow bits

Rating: 8.1/10

readmore »»  

127 Hours (2010)

Genre: Adventure/Biography/Drama

Starring: James Franco, Clemence Poesy

A mountaineer and adventurer, Aron Ralston (Franco) goes on a canyoneering trip to Blue John Canyon, Utah. Whilst on the adventure trip he slips and falls into a crevice and gets his arm stuck between a boulder and the canyon wall. In the middle of nowhere and with scanty resources, he has little chances of survival. His every attempt at rescuing himself does not work and in the end he needs to resort to desperate measures. Whilst being hostage to the canyon, Aron revisits all his life's memories, regrets his mistakes and apologises to people he hurt. The movies title denotes the number of hours Aron spent trapped in the crevice before finally being rescued. The story is based on a true life incident which occurred in April, 2003, subsequently after which Aron's story gained national coverage. The movie is quite slow but thankfully Danny Boyle has managed to make it a little less slow then it could have normally been. The movie is a simple narration of the actual incident and there really isn't too much to the plot. Probably if the movie was made like a documentary with in-between footage of Aron's actual recordings and photographs, the movie might have just been a bit different, might. If your expecting any of the Slumdog Millionarie drama and energy then you would be sorely depressed. Good but nothing fantastic.

Thumbs up: James Franco delivers the role with perfection

Thumbs down: Slow and some gory and graphic scenes

Rating: 7.4/10

readmore »»  

Boys Dont Cry (1999)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Biography

Starring: Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III, Alicia Goranson, Jeannetta Arnette

A young girl, Teena Brandon (Swank) has a sexual identity crisis and although she has all the sexual organs of a female, she behaves like a boy and is attracted to women. She flirts with Candace (Goranson) a woman she meets at a bar and later gets acquainted to Candace's sister, Lana (Sevigny). Teena gets attracted to Lana and flirts with her and the duo eventually fall in love. John (Sarsgaard) and Tom (Sexton III) are friends of Lana and  Lana's mother (Arnette) and they all regularly go out at night partying. Teena manages to gel well with the family, Tom and John and feels that she is leading a whole new life. Teena has a shady background and is wanted back home for stealing cars. Her legal summons come back to haunt her and its not long that her true sexual identity starts coming out for everyone to see. The most outstanding feature of this movie are the performances, especially that of Hilary Swank. Being able to carry such a difficult role with such finesse gave her the Oscar she truly deserved. Other supporting performances of Sarsgaard and Sevigny added positively to the movie and made it a better watch. The only downside in the movie are the middle forty-five minutes which get a bit slow and boring, but it give it some time and it would throw up a fabulous climax. The movie is a critics delight but an average audiences nightmare.

Thumbs up: Hilary Swank and other performances

Thumbs down: It has its own slow and boring moments

Rating: 7.2/10

readmore »»  

The Social Network (2010)

Genre: Biography/Drama/History

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield

The Facebook movie was a movie that 500 million people were anticipating. Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) the worlds youngest billionaire who created Facebook, did not have an easy life as most people imagined. After breaking up with his girlfriend one night, and half drunk, Mark hacked into the Harvard servers sitting in his dorm room and created a website which would allow students to rate which of the two girls they think is more hot. The website became a rage, the Harvard servers crashed and Mark faced disciplinary action. The twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Hammer) along with their friend Divya Narendra (Minghella) told Mark about their idea of creating a social networking website exclusively for the Harvard network. Mark stole their idea and created thefacebook.com. He got financial assistance from his rich friend Eduardo (Garfield) who become company CFO and together they got thefacebook.com to become a campus success. Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster and Plaxo, became interested in Mark's concept and started unofficially advising Facebook, much to the ire of Eduardo. Mark started making too many enemies and before he knew it, Eduardo Saverin and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were suing Mark Zuckerberg. Jesse Eisenberg seemed to the most appropriate person to play Zuckerberg's role, primarily due to his physical presence. Zuckerberg has mostly been portrayed as a human robot, emotionless, ruthless and highly focused. The only downside of the movie was the very abrupt ending. Most of the movie focused on the lawsuits that Zuckerberg faced and the rest of the story get narrated via the hearings. Perhaps if the movie had a more management angle to it, talking about hurdles and the slow and steady development of Facebook, the movie might have been better. But then again, this idea might be biased due to my association with business management. A highly motivating movie and a must-watch.

Thumbs up: Jesse Eisenberg

Thumbs down: Abrupt end

Rating: 8.0/10

readmore »»  

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Genre: Biography/Drama/Crime/History/War

Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Desmond Dube

The 1994 genocide of Rwanda rocked the world where close to 1 million people were brutally killed and murdered. The people of Rwanda and divided in two tribes, Hutu and Tutsi. Rebel breaks out in the African country after the murder of the Rwandan President. Hutu soldiers scamper across the streets hunting down and killing Tutsi civilians. Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) is the manager of the super-luxurious hotel, des Milles Collines. He bribes influential people by serving them good alcohol in hopes to get associated with influential people who could be of use to him during difficult times. Paul is Hutu whereas his wife Tatiana (Okonedo) is Tutsi. He manages to placate the soldiers that come on his doorstep by bribing them and gets his family and neighbours to the hotel. He struggles to take in as many refugees as he can, to ensure their security, to keep the hotel running equivalent to its standards, to look after the safety of his family and be the strength of each and every person who has come to him for help. The movie can be said to be the African Schindler's List and has more or less a similar plot. Don Cheadle has put on a fine piece of acting which makes the movie a classy watch. Brilliant depiction of the genocide which brings out the misery in which so many people are living and how unconcerned the west is to peoples misery. Deserves a five-star applause.

Thumbs up: Fabulous performances

Thumbs down: Could have had better plot execution

Rating: 8.2/10

readmore »»  

Apollo 13 (1995)

Genre: Drama/History/Adventure/Biography

Starring: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris

NASA had launched an Apollo Space Programme where multiple missions would be sent on the moon. Apollo 13 was the third Apollo mission intended to land on the moon. Jim Lovell (Hanks) was appointed flight commander along with Ken Mattingly (Sinise) as Command Module Pilot and Fred W. Haise (Paxton) as Lunar Module Pilot. Ken Mattingly was feared to have contracted measles and was dropped off the list just a week before take-off. His replacement, Jack Swigert (Bacon) was appointed just 3 days before take-off. The mission turned out to be a catastrophe when the oxygen tank leaked en route to the moon and had to be turned back towards Earth. The movie is the typical American movie which glorifies American achievements. Good performances by Tom Hanks and Ed Harris go in favour of the movie, but the lack of any excitement makes this movie a drag to watch. Predictable climaxes and anti-climaxes don't go very far in helping either. A decent entertainer but nothing much beyond that.

Thumbs up: Good performances

Thumbs down: Un-exciting and lacks the entertainment factor

Rating: 7.3/10

readmore »»  

Ramchand Pakistani (2008)

Genre: Drama/Biography/History

Starring: Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqi, Syed Fazal Hussain, Navaid Jabbar, Maria Wasti

In 2002 after alleged Pakistani terrorists stormed into the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, tensions between the two countries arose. The Indo-Pak border is dotted with small Dalit-Hindu villages. Shankar (Farooqi) was one such farmer cum teacher residing in one of these villages with his wife Champa (Das) and mischievious son Ramchand (Hassain). Ramchand gets upset when his parents forced him to go to school and aimlessly wanders around and unknowingly crosses the border. His father sees him from a distance and chases him and both get apprehended by the Indian Army for illegal border crossing. Ramchand and Shankar get held up in prison indefinitely. Over the years, Ramchand becomes a prison favourite and most of the inmates and guards take a fonding for him. The movie is the very typical low-budget film made by a director from a third-world country which gained a lot of appreciation and awards in various European film festivals. Once you get hold of the plot in the first 20 minutes, you know exactly what you are in for and what the final outcome is going to be. The movie is a good attempt but gets slow and dragged with no constant fresh developments and seems monotonous after a while. A good movie in the eyes of a movie critic, but can be a bore for the average audience. Based on a true life story.

Thumbs up: Great performances

Thumbs down: Slow and slightly boring after a while

Rating: 7.0/10

readmore »»