Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama/Comedy/Spoof/Adventure

Starring: Mike Myers, Seth Green, Beyonce Knowles, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine

The James Bond with obscenely high testosterone levels is back once more to make the ladies shiver with excitement and save the world. Austin Powers (Myers) has learnt that his father has been kidnapped and is stuck back in time in the '70s. He must go and save him from the clutches of Goldmember (Myers) an obnoxious Dutch who loves Gold and loves eating his dead skin. He encounters an old acquaintance Foxy Cleopatra who is working undercover as a part of Goldmembers team. Austin meets Dr. Evil (Myers) who too has travelled back in time to take Goldmember to the future and help him destroy the world. Austin along with Foxy must prevent Dr. Evil and Goldmember from accomplishing their evil deed and save the world from ultimate doom. The movie series were famously known to spoof various spy movies, especially the James Bond movies which provide the basis for all jokes and story. Myers exceeds expectations but increasing his role from 3 to 4 by executing the character of Goldmember apart from Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard. Its an insane laugh riot which might seem very similar in humour to its previous movies but is still a very fun movie to watch.

Thumbs up: Mike Myers

Thumbs down: Overdone humour in the series, lacks freshness

Rating: 6.9/10

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The Descendants (2011)

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie

The life of an average American man who suddenly seems to have too much on his hand to control. Matt King (Clooney) is a lawyer based in Hawaii and lives with his wife and two daughters. His relationship with his wife, Elizabeth (Hastie) is strained and friends and family inform him its because there was a lack of excitement. Elizabeth suffers a jet ski accident and goes into a coma. Its only then that Matt's elder daughter Alexandra (Woodley) informs him of her extra-marital affair with an unknown man. Matt is the sole trustee of a family trust that owns a huge chunk of virgin land on one of the islands. Due to a law his trust would expire in seven years and he has no choice but to sell it. Managing his daughters, his wife's accident, strained marriage and the island deal coming together to one average man makes life hard, very hard. Clooney has done a phenomenal piece of acting and rightfully earns the numerous awards he has received for it. The light comedy sprinkled in the first half of the movie and the dramatic second half is the perfect structure for a movie of its kind and is spot-on. The movie is pretty much flawless but suffers from the drawbacks of the genre of the movie. A movie of its kind can get heavy and is slow, attributes that naturally occur and are unavoidable. A definite watch and gives the viewer a lot to reflect upon.

Thumbs up: Fabulous acting, especially Clooney

Thumbs down: Slow and heavy

Rating: 7.7/10

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Cedar Rapids (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kurtwood Smith, Sigourney Weaver

An award-winning insurance agency, Brownstar, has been successful so far in winning the Two Diamonds awards given out annually to the best insurance agency. Brownstar insurance agent Tim Lippe (Helms) is selected to  represent his company this year at the awards ceremony after the agent who usually took up this task decided to move on in life. Tim has never stepped out of his home town, led a sheltered life and is very immature for his age. He has no idea on how he is supposed to live to his boss's expectations and come back winning the awards. He befriends his roommates Dean Zeigler (Reily) the very man whom his boss asked him to stay away from, and Ronald Wilkes (Whitlock Jr.). He is attraction to Joan (Heche), nervousness about winning the award, learning about independent life the hard way and getting accustomed to reality make those few days seem far longer than they were intended to be. The movie is pretty much your average run-of-the-mill comedy movie but it wont fail to entertain. Its light, funny, cheerful and uplifting and would try very hard to make you smile.

Thumbs up: Light and fun

Thumbs down: Cliched and can slow in parts

Rating: 6.5/10

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Scary Movie 4 (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Spoof/Adventure

Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Conchita Campbell, Beau Mirchoff, Kevin Hart

The Scary Movie series of movies can be attributed with the revolution of spoof movies where the plot never really mattered and all that accounted for was the ridiculous humour derived out of current events, TV shows and mostly movies. The fourth installment of the series decides to take on The Village, The Grudge and War of the Worlds. Cindy Campbell (Farris) has taken up a job as nursing an old-aged woman and finds that her house is haunted by a Japanese child who predicts the destruction of Earth and tells Cindy that only she can stop the alien invasion. Tom Ryan (Bierko) is a divorcee who has to take care of his children Rachel (Campbell) and Robbie (Mirchoff). Tom and Cindy are new neighbours and fall in love with each other just as catastrophe strikes Earth with an deadly alien invasion. Cindy along with Brenda (Hall) and Tom must use the Japanese kids advice and stop Earth from ultimate doom. The movie has derived its core plot from a non-horror movie and hence failed to live up to the brand name to an extent. The jokes are only moderately funny and the full extent of the humour can only be absorbed if one is familiar with the movies/personalities that are being spoofed on. You can watch it but you wont miss out on anything if you chose not to.

Thumbs up: Its not easy to make good movie spoofs

Thumbs down: Not very funny

Rating: 5.6/10

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Next Day Air (2009)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Comedy

Starring: Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Wood Harris, Omari Hardwick, Emilio Rivera, Darius McCary, Cisco Reyes, Yasmin Deliz, Lobo Sebastian

There are some movies that make you simply wonder, 'Why'? Why would anyone want to waste all the resources to recreate garbage? Doesn't the world create enough of that already? If you filter the trash, one would find that most of these movies feature African-American crime and comedy that hardly ever appeals to the masses. Leo (Faison) is a simple mail delivery man who delivers post after getting high. In one such instance, he drops of a box full of 10 bricks of cocaine to the wrong house. Guch (Harris) and Brody (Epps) are wannabe gangsters who have befriended a completely unknown person to rob a bank which goes hopelessly wrong. A miscommunication leads them to steal the 'tapes' instead of the 'cash' and now they're broke with no money, until there is a knock on the door and they're delivered an unknown package. Across the hallway, Jesus (Reyes) is awaiting for his coke shipment to arrive from drug lord Bodega (Rivera). The package never comes, Bodega is mad and Jesus is pissing in his pants. Guch and Brody decide to sell the stuff to Brody's cousin Shavoo (Hardwick) not knowing that the package belongs to their friendly neighbour. The movie is the average entertainer with the regular comedy that is often associated from this genre of movie. Watchable, but not commendable.

Thumbs up: Keeps you involved the entire time

Thumbs down: Unexciting and predictable

Rating: 5.8/10

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Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama

Starring: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Verne Troyer, Mindy Sterling

James Bond, oops, Austin Powers (Myers) returns once again but the element that makes him the man that he is has gone missing. Austin Powers has lost his mojo. Austin Powers has lost his libido. Austin Powers has lost his manhood. Austin Powers cannot shag! That is bad news for Mr. Powers and even worse for the ladies. Dr. Evil (Myers) sent his secret agent, Fat Bastard (Myers) back in time to 1969 to steal Mr. Powers man-ly elements whilst he is frozen. Powers in the year 1999 suddenly realises that something from within him is gone missing and soon learns of Evil's theft in the past. He too decides to go back to 1969 and get his vital organs back in order and also prevent Dr. Evil from bringing down Washington D.C. with a laser beam perched atop the Moon. Along with his oh-so-sexy accomplice, Felicity Shagwell (Graham) Powers must save the world and bring himself back to the ladies. If you think Mike Myers outdid himself with his dual roles of Evil and Powers, he just raised the bar with a third performance of Fat Bastard. The entertainment quotient of the series is ever increasing with the humour, satire and jokes being fabulous and fun. The abrupt ending of Miss Kensington from the previous movie and the absence of Mrs. Kensington in 1969 seems out of place, but who cares really?

Thumbs up: Mike Myers as always

Thumbs down: Awkward plot line

Rating: 7.5/10

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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Crime

Starring: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Fabiana Udenio

What would happen if Jim Carrey would play the role of James Bond? You would get Austin Powers (Myers). The British Spy whose every move gives woman orgasms on the street, whose suave style and character are loved by all and the sole person on the planet who can put an end to Dr. Evil (Myers). Its England in the year 1967 when Dr. Evil freezes himself and escapes from Powers to outer space and promises to return again. Not to get outdone, Powers freezes himself too in order to be ready when Evil decides to return. 30 years later, Evil returns once again with plans of world domination and Austin Powers is reborn. The flashy colours of the 60's, the freedom of unprotected sex, the boot-cut trousers and his overtly sexual character are a complete misfit in this era and our spy is finding a hard time to adjust himself. Along with his accomplice, Miss Kensington (Hurley) Austin must stop Dr. Evil from planting a nuclear warhead inside the Earths core which would make every volcano explode. The movie is loaded with satire, humour, spoofs and is made not to make any sense but to simply roll you over with laughter. Myers steals the show with his dual performances of Evil and Powers. Its his British humour, awkwardly humorous scenes and the 60's misfit style are simply fabulous. Its shagadelic baby!

Thumbs up: Mike Myers and the amazing humour

Thumbs down: Some slow scenes that break the flow

Rating: 7.5/10

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A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (3D) (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Starring: Kal Penn, John Cho, Thomas Lennon, Amir Blumenfeld, Paula Garces, Danny Trejo

Harold (Cho) & Kumar (Penn) have entertained audiences in the past when they went to White Castle and Guantanamo Bay. The two best friends perpetually landed themselves in trouble with Harold trying to figure a more reasonable way out and Kumar chosing something more radical. The two friends have not parted ways with Harold tired of Kumar's continued immaturity and not being able to accept adulthood. He has settled down with Maria (Garces) and Maria's family decides to drop in for Christmas. Her father Carlos Perez (Trejo) is a very religious person and believes in celebrating Christmas with all his heart. Harold and him dont get along and Carlos has entrusted Harold with the task of decorating a Christmas tree that he has been growing for years for this special occassion. Kumar is still spending time like a college graduate, smoking weed all day long and finds a package with Harold's name on his doorstep. Not having seen him in all these years he decided to pay him a visit and give the package. Kumar, ever-famous for his blunders, puts Carlos' tree on fire and the two now need to look for a new tree and decorate it before he returns home. The movies have consistently focussed on the duo and their misfortunate events but what made them famous and loved was the slapstick and enjoyable humour. Penn, as usual, brings in all the sex and stupid humour which seemed to lack finesse and character. The movie doesnt have humour like the previous movies, gets extremely boring during unwanted melodramatic scenes and lacks a different plot. Fails to live up to the brands name and a big let down for fans.

Thumbs up: Very few selected scenes that have the Harld & Kumar essence

Thumbs down: Horrible humour, extremely boring at times

Rating: 5.8/10

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Puss in Boots (2011)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Action/Fantasy/Crime

Starring (voice): Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris

The innocent, brown furred, black-eyed, Spaniard cat from Shrek gets a movie to his own name. Puss in Boots (Banderas) is an outlaw who loots and plunders, not from the innocent, but from those who deserve it, much like Robin Hood. He learns about the magic beanstalk with the Golden Goose that lives high up in the Giants castle and lays golden eggs He embarks on an adventure to find the magic beans when he crosses paths with Kitt Softpaws (Hayek) a cat much like him, out for the same objective. His adventures lead him to once again come face to face with Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis) an old friend who started stealing from the innocent and hence parted ways. Humpty and Puss had a childhood ambition of growing the beanstalk and now Humpty knows how exactly to do it and needs Puss' help once more. The character of Puss was loved and applauded by all for his cute and suave Latino style. With the Shrek series coming to an end, Dreamworks' attempt at reviving old fairy tales and portraying them contrarty to our normal beliefs might have failed in this attempt. Shrek was loved for its humour and unique plot line, however, Puss in Boots fails on both those aspects with below average humour and an extremely predictable story. Targeted towards young kids, the movie needs heavy humour that the audience could associate with and not the rude, sarcastic and slightly sexual comedy that the movie banks upon. A let-down for people who expected the Shrek magic once more.

Thumbs up: Unique blend of various fairytale characters

Thumbs down: Boring  humour, hopeless attempt at being entertaining

Rating: 6.2/10

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Rat Race (2001)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Breckin Meyer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vince Vieluf, Seth Green, Whoopi Goldberg, Lanei Chapman, John Cleese, Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy, Amy Smart

The owner of the Venetian Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Donald Sinclair (Cleese) is probably the most self-proclaimed eccentric man ever. He realised that the rich and famous are bored of the normal card games played in the casino and want to bet on something more irrational and fun. From 'which chamber maid can hang from a rod the longest', 'how much would a hooker charge for doing something very absurb' to, of course, the rat race. 6 groups of people were picked at random from the casino to take part in a cross country race to Silver Springs, New Mexico where the winner wins $2 million. Sinclair and his friends get to bet on who they think would be the winner. Football referee Owen Templeton (Gooding Jr.) has lost his reputation for messing up a coin toss during the recent game and fans would willingly beat him up on sight. Petty cooks and brothers Duane (Green) and Blaine Cody (Vieluf) have achieved nothing in life and think this might just be it. Vera Baker (Goldberg) has just met her long lost daughter Merill Jennings (Chapman). Nick Schaffer (Meyer) has no intentions of taking part in the race, however, his flight to Chicago is grounded, thanks to the Cody brothers, and he meets a helicopter pilot Tracy (Smart) who is heading towards Silver Springs. Since she is going there after all, and since he cant get to Chicago, he reckoned he might as well get back to the race. Enrico Pollini (Atkinson) a narcoleptic Italian keeps falling off to sleep at completely random places, only to wake up and continue onwards. Randy Pear (Lovitz) is a gambling-addict who has come with his family to Vegas on vacation. He lies to his family that he has work in Silver Springs and keeps cooking up stories on the way. The movie is funny and is a sure-shot dose of entertainment. You might not fall off your seat though, but it would give you a pretty good laugh!

Thumbs up: Great humour

Thumbs down: Everything else

Rating: 6.8/10

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Cars 2 (2011)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Comedy/Sports/Drama

Starring (voice): Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro

A sequel to the first Cars movie, British industrialist Sir Miles Axlerod (Izzard) launches a new bio fuel after realising that fossil fuels are quickly degrading the world. To launch this fuel he is holding a World Grand Prix, a race that would see the top drivers from various motor sports battle it out on three different locations to prove the reliability of the fuel. Lightning McQueen (Wilson) is on the race and this time he decides to bring Mater (Cable Guy) along for the race. Finn McMissile (Caine) James Bonds Aston Martin DB5, is a British spy who is investigating a TV camera and its hidden functionality. Along with his sidekick, Holley Shiftwell (Mortimer) they are to rendezvous with an American spy at the World Grand Prix launch party, who has further information on the case. The American gets cornered and in an act of desperation, plants the device, holding the information, on Mater. McMissile and Shitwell track the device and assume Mater to be a very well disguised spy which according to Mater becomes the adventure of his life. The movie replicates human life very interestingly on cars. It's fun to hunt for the finer details and get amused at the thought process that went behind it. The only let down in the movie was the lack of good humour and comedy. Sure the movie is enticing and would definitely grasp the attention of kids, especially if its your kid brother, but it still lacks the ability to make you roll over with laughter.

Thumbs up: Superb animation, extremely gripping

Thumbs down: Not funny enough although it is entertainment-packed

Rating: 7.0/10

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Bruce Almighty (2003)

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Philip Baker Hall

Every time something in our life goes wrong we curse god, we curse our luck and we wish our life could be better. Who wouldn't want the power of god to change our own world for good? But gaining gods responsibility is not as easy as it might look. Bruce Nolan (Carrey) is a TV news reporter who never got the big stories but was stuck with the smaller insignificant stuff. Frustrated with his life, his bad luck and how things are just not working out, he curses god (Freeman) who decides to teach Bruce a lesson. He grants Bruce all of his powers and tells him to the job of being god for a while and see how it is. Bruce has a field day with his wife Grace (Aniston), he improves his life at work and does the biggest mistake of granting every ones wishes to be true. The movie portrays our perception of god and how at times we wish for something but at the same time don't know the consequences of what we wish for. We might want something but if given the opportunity to grant that desire, we might just think twice about what we asked for. The movie is a good mix of comedy and romance and with Jim Carrey doing the slapstick stuff it can never get any better. A light entertainer which makes you laugh and improves your mood.

Thumbs up: Jim Carrey, an overall decent entertainer

Thumbs down: More humour maybe?

Rating: 6.8/10

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Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Action/Adventure

Starring: Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Janet Jones, Lance Kinsey, Matt McCoy, G.W. Bailey, George Gaynes, Rene Auberjonois

The fifth installment of the Police Academy series shifts base to the exotic Miami when Comdt. Eris Lassard (Gaynes) gets kidnapped. Captain Harris (Bailey) is as usual trying to overthrow Lassard and take over his position and has learnt that Lassard has crossed the state mandatory retirement age and is overdue to vacate the post. Lassard is always being awarded the police officer of the decade at Miami and he invites his trusted officers to accompany him for the ceremony. Tony (Auberjonois) is a thief who recently stole some diamonds but accidentally managed to switch bags with Lassard at the airport. With his diamonds with Lassard, he decides to kidnap him to extract them with Lassard's team hot on his trail. The movies in this series were never really high on entertainment with average humour, predictable plot and weak acting. A lot of the actors and characters were subject to shuffling, with the latest being Steve Guttenberg who played the lead role of Carrey Mahoney who was absent from this movie. An avoidable movie only to watch if you really need something light and simplistic.

Thumbs up: Nothing exceptional

Thumbs down: Humour and acting

Rating: 4.6/10

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Hole in One (2010)

Genre: Comedy/Sport/Drama/Romance

Starring: Steve Talley, David Ellison, Dean Cameron, Christopher Showerman, Sandy Modic

Sex sells? At least that is what the makers of this movie believe in. Here is our recipe; get a young famous actor, get some gorgeous skimpy clothed woman, add some considerable nudity, sprinkle some slap-stick humour and if you really wish, add a plot to it. Eric (Talley) is an amateur golfer who hustles people and makes a living. His best friend Tyler (Ellison) runs a store that sells clothes golf apparel and the two are enjoying their life the way it is. On one eventful day, Eric makes a bet with two plastic surgeons at golf and loses, or rather gained, something he wish he never had. Steve Talley has emerged as the new god of sex-comedy movies after his success with American Pie and Van Wilder. The movie is a mindless comic with no laughable humour or entertaining plot outline. If loads of topless woman is what defines your style of entertainment then this movie is definitely up to the mark else it is a pure waste of precious time. Watch at your own risk.

Thumbs up: Does the moon have water?

Thumbs down: Bad plot, worse humour

Rating: 4.8/10

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My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2010)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Christopher Gorham, Alyssa Milano, Michael Landes, Tom Lenk

An aspiring writer, Ethan (Gorham) is tired of facing rejection and his editor saying that his stories lack inspiration. Just when he is about to give up, he meets a waitress Jessie (Milano) and the two immediately become really great friends. Ethan starts to fall in love with her but little does he know that Jessie is also dating an advertising executive, Troy (Landes). Jessie seems to love both, Troy and Ethan and neither of the men know about each other. Jessie soon realises that her life cannot go on like this and one fine day she would have to bring out the truth and select one over the other. The movie starts out being very interesting and progress is smooth and catchy. The only downfall of the movie is its climax which is not understandable, downright weird and not what one would expect from this movie. It somehow changes the entire plot with what you have been watching all this while to something completely different and what some might call it, lame. It seemed like a hurried option just to end the movie and brings down an otherwise decent watch.

Thumbs up: A good romance to watch with your lover

Thumbs down: Horrible climax

Rating: 5.7/10

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Dude, Where's My Car (2000)

Genre: Comedy/Adventure/Science-fiction/Mystery

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Jennifer Garner, Marla Sokoloff, Hal Sparks

Two pot-heads have a crazy night and the next day, they don't remember a thing. Jesse (Kutcher) and Chester (Scott) cannot remember where they went and what they did but all they know is that they might have had a really good time. The two forgot their anniversary with the twins, Wanda (Garner) and Wilma (Sokoloff), forgot where they kept their gifts, forgot why a transsexual is demanding $200,000 from them, forgot why two Nordic dudes, a group of girls calling themselves 'hot chicks' and a team of very geeky cult members are after them for the 'Continuum Transfunctioner' a device that can destroy the entire universe and forgot where they parked Jesse's car. They realised that if they find the car most of their questions about last night would be solved, but that is if they can find out where the car is. Since this movie preceded The Hangover one can say that it might have been the source of inspiration for the epic laugh riot. This movie, however, was not all that funny but just plain stupid. Its the very typical slap-stick humour that you sit and enjoy with friends and simply erase it from your memory later. Stupid and funny but don't expect too much out of it.

Thumbs up: Stupid humour, a sex-comedy with a plot

Thumbs down: Not funny enough

Rating: 6.2/10

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Jo Dooba So Paar: It's Love in Bihaar (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Vinay Pathak, Anand Tiwari, Rajat Kapoor, Pitobash Tripathy, Dadhi Raj, Sita Ragoine Spada

When a white woman walks into India with extremely ambitious plans to tour the country and further her knowledge, everyone knows the hurdles she will have to cross and Sapna's (Spada) story is no different. Sapna comes to India to pursue her M. Phil research in paintings of India and wants to travel all over Bihar. Kishu (Tiwari) is a local youth who dropped out of school and now spends his days in his fathers truck transporting goods from one city to another. He glances upon Sapna in the streets one morning and instantly falls in love. Day in and day out he tirelessly tries win her heart only to find that it belonged to someone else. The movie is set against Bihar's rural life and most of the humour comes from their style of talking and the sarcasm that comes along with it. To someone who is familiar with the dialect, the humour would be more appreciated compared to anyone else who might just laugh without getting its true meaning. The performances and good and its worth that one watch to enjoy and go home.

Thumbs up: Sarcastic humour, performances

Thumbs down: Not LOL funny

Rating: 6.6/10

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Despicable Me (2010)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Drama/Science-fiction/Action

Starring (voice): Steve Carell, Jason Segal, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher

How I love a good, humourous and fun to watch animation! It is indeed pleasing when every now and then there comes a comedy that you can watch over and over again and enjoy it just as you did when you saw it the very first time. Gru (Carell) a master conman has a falling reputation that he needs to improve. Vector (Segal) a new thief in the business has managed to steal the Pyramid of Giza putting Gru's thefts, the Times Square Jumbotron, The Statue of Liberty (from Vegas) and the Eiffel Tower (also from Vegas) to shame. Gru comes up with one large theft that will change the way the world looks at him, but for that he needs the Shrink Ray, which is currently in Vector's possession. Three orphan girls, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier) and Agnes (Fisher) have easy access to Vector's facility because he loves the cookies they sell to him. Gru plans to adopt them to gain entry to Vector's facility, not knowing that his evil, cunning, stone-cold and selfish heart will change forever. The best thing about the movie is its subtle humour that would make people of all ages roll over with laughter and guarantee a great time. Agnes' character is extremely cute and is made to appeal to young kids and Gru's minion's take the cake when it comes to idiotic and enjoyable humour. The movie can promptly shift from being a comedy to an action sequence and can suddenly bring out all the emotions from within you in a flash. A definite watch and a sure shot entertainer. I'm lovin' it!

Thumbs up: Great humour, brilliant entertainer, fabulous character creation

Thumbs done: None at all

Rating: 8.5/10

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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure/Drama

Starring (voice): Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Tom McGrath

The hilarious story of four animal friends from the New York zoo who land up in Madagascar, Africa continues. Alex, the egoistic Lion (Stiller), his best friend Marty the Zebra (Rock), Melman the extra-hygienic Giraffe (Schwimmer) and Glorio the Hippo (Smith) are finally hatching a plan to leave Madagascar and go back to NYC for good. However, their make shift and tacky aircraft gives away just after the journey and the entire team find themselves in the heart of Africa, within the Kalahari. The four friends realised that they all came from this exact same place and Alex even meets his real parents. The true challenge comes when Alex has to prove he is a true lion by engaging another lion in combat and securing a place for himself in the pride. Alex has always been a performance Lion and never knew how to fight in combat. The first part of the movie was an ultimate laugh-riot with King Julian (Cohen) stealing the show along with Skipper the Penguin (McGrath) and his team of dim-witted side-kicks. The movie does not entirely fail to live up to expectations but is not exactly as funny either. King Julian and Skipper still entertain but the entire comedy rests solely on their shoulders with almost no support coming from any other character. A good family entertainer and is still worth the watch.

Thumbs up: King Julian all the way

Thumbs down: Not as funny as the earlier movie

Rating: 6.7/10

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(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend

Summer Finn (Deschanel) is the average next door girl with average looks and an almost average personality. Yet, there is something inside that makes everyone around her attracted to her. Whatever she does and wherever she goes, there is always a mass of people doing the exact same thing behind her. Tom (Gordon-Levitt) is an architect who is working as a cartoonist in a greeting card manufacturing company. When Summer joins the company as the bosses assistant, Tom falls in love. Summer and Tom get along as good friends and things start to progress rapidly when suddenly Summer mentions that she is not looking at anything serious but its too late since Tom already is. The movie might appear to be the average run-of-the-mill love story but it actually isn't. Its less of a fictional romance and more of a practical love story which almost every other person experiences. Even though the plot might not be as interesting, the form in which the movie is narrated with the constant back and forth in time has made it unique and interesting. Good performances coupled with a good plot execution has made this a great movie for lovers to watch together.

Thumbs up: Great way of narrating a plot

Thumbs down: Average storyline

Rating: 7.3/10

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