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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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Science-fiction/Drama/Fantasy

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L.Jackson, Frank Oz (voice)

The epic inter-galactic saga comes to an end after five successful movies with the sixth movie aiming to bring a end to the entire story. The movie had garnered millions of fans from throughout the world of all ages, right from those who have seen the very first movie back in 1977 to their sons who enjoyed the prequel movies. Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) is a Jedi warrior and is in love with Padme (Portman). Senator Palpatine (McDiarmid) has been kidnapped by the enemies of the republic and Anakin along with Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) must rescue him. The Jedi council and particularly Master Yoda (Oz) had their doubts on Anakin and were not sure if the force within him was for good or for bad. Anakin breached the Jedi's regulations by submitting himself to desire and want by fathering a child with Padame. Anakin saw a vision of Padame dying during childbirth but did not know what he could do to stop it without the Jedi council knowing about it. Senator Palpatine is in reality the Sith Lord who realised that the dark side was strong within Anakin and lured him to join hands with the context of being able to save Padame. The greatest achievement of the movie is its ability to fluidly join the story lines together although the first movie began halfway through the story. Episode III and Episode IV might have been made around 30 years apart yet each and every aspect of new vs old have been cunningly brought together with adequate detailing on the finer aspects. The movie, however, failed to bring out a high climax which would have been deservedly fit for a saga of its kind. That said, it does give a good closing feature which gives you the impression that it has finally all come to an end. This movie is perhaps the most dissected and detailed movie ever, with every vehicle, army, planet and character having a name and story behind it. A worthy finishing movie with only some minor drawbacks.

Thumbs up: Good ending, highly entertaining

Thumbs down: Climax sequence is a bit weak

Rating: 7.5/10

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Hereafter (2010)

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Starring: Matt Damon, Cecile De France, Theirry Neuvic, Frankie McLaren, George McLaren

Three people, each with their own worries and miseries, unknown to each other finally discover solace. Set against the backdrop of two world disasters, the south east Asian tsunami and the London tube bombings, the movie narrates the struggle that each one is facing with the matter of death. George Lonegan (Damon) is an American psychic who unlike others in the business has some truly unique powers which allow him to make a connection with the dead and convey messages. He cant run his life this way anymore and wants to get the so called 'power' out of him in order to run a normal life. A French TV anchor Marie Lelay (France) has a near death experience in a tsunami while holiday in Asia which shakes her life and she is hunting for answers. Two British twins, Marcus (McLaren) and Jason (McLaren) cant seem to lead their lives without each other when Jason suddenly dies in a freak road accident. Marcus cant seem to get over his brothers death and has been gloomy and sad ever since. He is trying to find someone who can answer his problems but finds no one. Half an hour into the movie and you realise its going the Babel way where the individual plots would eventually merge. There really is no fault with the plots per se but the coming together of the entire storyline was predictable to some extent and not all that dramatic and lacked a certain degree of climax.Coming from the Clint Eastwood stable, one expects much more and something far better and that said, its not all that bad either.

Thumbs up: Some good pieces of acting, enticing plot line

Thumbs down: Weak climax, end is not as impressive as one would have liked it to be

Rating: 7.2/10

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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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Thor (2011)

Genre: Action/Science-fiction/Fantasy/Adventure

Starring: Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Colm Feore

According to ancient Nordic mythology, the god of gods, Odin (Hopkins) had two sons Loki (Hiddleston) and Thor (Hemsworth). Thor was the heir-apparent to the throne of Odin's kingdom much to the despise of Loki. Loki, God of Mischief, was known for his trickery and Lies and Thor, God of Thunder, for his rage and arrogance. The movie blends the old mythical story with new-age science to narrate the story of King Odin, ruler of the planet Asgard who once waged war against the Frost Giants and their leader King Laufey (Feore) and seized their prized Casket of Ancient Winter, their only source of power. Thor eventually accesses the throne and in order to celebrate his new accession, wages war once again with the Frost Giants in order to prove his might. Angered, his father banishes him to Earth and casts a spell on his Hammer which would only answer to a person worthy of wielding it. Jane Foster (Portman) an astrophysicist rescues Thor upon his arrival and aides him in whatever way she could. Thor wants to retrieve his hammer and return to Asgard but mischievous Loki has other secret plans for him. The movie is a good blend of mythology and science and seamless and convincing blend does not seem awkward or out of place. For anyone familiar with Nordic mythology or for someone who played the very famous PC game Age of Mythology would be familiar with gods featured in the movie and their powers and characters. A good adventure and fantasy watch that ticks the right boxes.

Thumbs up: Good graphics, great seamless blending of stories

Thumbs down: Nothing really, ticks the right boxes to be a decent entertainer

Rating: 7.5/10

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Beowulf (2007)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Animation

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Angelina Jolie

Based on an ancient Scandinavian poem set in Denmark, Beowulf (Winstone) is a mighty hero who arrives to the aid of King Hrothgar (Hopkins) when his royal halls are being constantly plagued by a beast called Grendel. Beowulf wounds the beast without armour and with his bare hands and leaves him to scamper to his mother (Jolie) where he dies. The Danes rejoice but Grendels mother wants revenge and she attacks and kills all of Beowulf's warriors save him. Beowulf now has to finish Grendel's mother too, a task far more challenging than he ever imagined. Her beauty is astonishing and enticing, seductive and luscious, tempting and mesmerising, so much so, that any warrior would willingly give in to her. The movie has been shot on a motion capture technology where simply the motion of the act is captured on film with all other entities such as background and effects being digitally created and added. The visual aspects and special effects may not be all that stunning or ground-breaking, yet the detailing and specifications are spot-on. The movie is a reproduction of the poem with its own pieces of modifications and alterations which make it a good, interesting and action-packed piece of entertainment.

Thumbs up: Good plot execution and adaptation

Thumbs down: Weak special effects and animation

Rating: 7.3/10

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The Mask (1994)

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Action/Fantasy

Starring: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene

Bright-coloured suits, over-the-top acting, slapstick humour, irritatingly stupid and laugh out loud funny; that is how you describe Jim Carrey. The Mask defines Carrey's every acting style and the role seems to be perfectly tailor-made for him. Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey) is a bank clerk who receives a hot, sexy new client Tina Carlyle (Diaz) who wants to open a new account. In reality, Tina is working for Dorian (Greene) one of the cities top criminals who is scouting the bank and is hatching a plot to rob it. On a night when everything seems to be going bad, Stan stumbles upon The Mask and discovers its unique powers. The Mask converts a person into a green-faced individual and makes that person everything they always wanted to be but never could be. Stan turns into a goofy, funny, cartoon-ish and over-romantic guy and decides to go around town getting some revenge. The movie stands for epic Jim Carrey humour, and is outrageously funny. Sure, the slapstick and stupid comedy may not appeal to all but there is no denying that the movie is a really amazing watch. Somebody stop him!

Thumbs up: Jim Carrey's nonsense all the way

Thumbs down: The kind of humour that all may not appreciate

Rating: 7.4/10

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (3D) (2011)

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure, Action

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter

The final movie of one of the worlds largest selling books is finally here. The epic ending of the Harry Potter series is here, and how! Harry (Radclifee) along with his two best friends, Hermione (Watson) and Ronald Weasley (Grint) are in the quest for 7 Horcruxes, a magical device in which the dark lord, Lord Voldemort (Fiennes) has held a part of his soul. Until and unless these seven horcruxes are destroyed, Harry cannot kill Voldemort once and for all. The quest makes him go into the depths of the darkest and most dangerous of places, a chance he must take. He learns about secrets and mysteries about his life and his past, some which shock and others mystify him even further. The saving grace about the movie was that it wasn't a random mixture of erratic events stuck together by super glue but a good narration of constant developments. The movie sadly does not refer to the previous movie or refresh the audience's mind about the previous movie, an aspect which I believe is essential since the audience would have more or less forgotten about it in the part few months. The visuals and graphics are stunning, especially in 3D which make it a thrilling and entertaining watch. All in all, the movie is a fabulous treat for Harry Potter fans and would make you leave awe-struck. To know more about 'How to messy up a movie ending big-time', please watch the last bit of the movie.

Thumbs up: Brilliant special effects, good sequence of events
Thumbs down: Horrible ending

Rating: 7.1/10

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Green Lantern (3D) (2011)

Genre: Science-fiction/Fantasy/Action/Adventure

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Super-hero movies is not new to cinema and saving the world through the discovery of a super-natural power is not new either. Upon the creation of the universe, the Guardians decided to hold it together by tapping into the will power of all beings surviving within it. The universe was divided into various sectors, each controlled by a Green Lantern who would look into the well-being of all the planets with it. Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is fighter jet test-pilot with Ferris Aircraft company who stumbles upon a dying Green Lantern. The Green Lantern's ring selected Jordan as the successor for the dying warrior and all the responsibilities that come with it. When confronted by Sinestro (Strong) the leader of the Lanterns, Hal realises he is not up to the task and loses faith in his powers. Meanwhile, Dr. Hector Hammond (Sarsgaard) is asked to conduct an analysis of the dead Green Lantern's body who comes in contact with an organ that adversely affects his mental and physical structure. The movie outline is a tried and tested super hero story which does not have anything new to offer except for the design of his suit. The 3D technology used in the movie is extremely inferior with blurred and hazy images constantly occurring. Although the blame may lie with something outside the scope of the producer, it still makes the 3D experience not worth the extra cost. A big no-show, not even on a DVD.

Thumbs up: The bold attempt to create something so lame

Thumbs down: Bad graphics, poor plot

Rating: 6.1/10

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X-Men: First Class (2011)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Fantasy/Adventure

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones

The fifth installment of the X-Men series goes back in time to 1962 when Charles Xavier graduated as a mutant researcher, brimming with knowledge and working towards creating peace between humans and mutants. He himself is a mutant with the unique ability to read peoples minds and control them. Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (Fassbender) suffered at the hands of a Nazi officer, Sebastian Shaw (Bacon) who murdered his mother in order to enrage Erik and bring out his magnetic powers. Ever since, Erik, seething with anger, has sworn revenge against Shaw and his accomplices. Shaw is trying to take advantage of the Cold War and has pitched the Russians and the Americans against each other and hopes to trigger a nuclear war which would see the destruction of the worlds two largest super-powers with him emerging as the ruler of the world. Erik, Charles and CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert (Byrne) along with a group of young mutants have decided to take matters into their own hands to prevent a third world war. The biggest plus side of the movie is the continuation of the story and not just the simple good vs evil plotline. The movie highlights the fallout between Xavier and Magneto which was an essential missing link to the main storyline. Their is tons of hugely destructive action sequences, although many people may point and laugh at the super-natural powers and its complete preposterousness. The movie hints at a sixth installment and considering the missing story from X-Men: Wolverine be prepared for at least 2 more movies in this ever famous series.

Thumbs up: Great action, good plot

Thumbs down: Good enough for a prelogue to the main story, no major fallout

Rating: 7.2/10

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy/Drama

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally

The ever famous Captain Jack Sparrow returns once again in the fourth edition of the Pirates of the Caribbean series of movies. It was rumoured that Captain Jack Sparrow has visited the Fountain of Youth and with the Spanish searching for the fountain, the English want to get there first. Captain Barbossa (Rush) has joined alliance with the Crown and wants Jack to be first mate and get him to the Fountain of Youth. Jack, ever fond of his pre-fix 'Captain' refuses to play second fiddle escapes only to find himself encounter his long lost love from Spain, Angelica (Cruz). Angelica reveals herself to be the daughter of the pirate Blackbeard (McShane) who has been prophesied to be killed by Barbossa in a fortnight. Fearing his life, Blackbeard wants to get to the fountain before the prophesy can turn out to be true and Captain Sparrow will be the one to get him there. The movie is a massive let down to all Jack Sparrow fans with a whole lot of 'new' changes which have spoilt the fun and feel of the previous movies. Most of the cast has been changed with a lot of new characters that dont seem to fit in, the plot has got no link whatsoever with the previous movies and is an entirely new story. The main reason for these drastic changes could be the new director compared to the earlier three movies. The movie misses out on the Jack Sparrow charisma and humour which made the movie different from the conventional. Nonetheless, Johnny Depp has taken the show away and done a fabulous performance just like what one can expect it to be. I just hope Disney does not make a fifth one and ruin the entire series.

Thumbs up: Johnny Depp

Thumbs down: New star cast, new story, new director

Rating: 6.5/10

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Zoom (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Science-fiction/Fantasy/Adventure/Action

Starring: Tim Allen, Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, Spencer Breslin, Kate Mara, Michael Cassidy, Ryan Newman

The Zenith Team was a team of super-heroes led by Zoom (Allen) many years ago. The team collapsed when the government tried to artificially enhance their powers which turned Zoom's brother Concussion onto the evil side who subsequently killed all the team members except Zoom who simply lost his powers. Concussion was presumed dead and now the government has information that he will return in less than 10 days. Zoom is now a demoralised aging man who doesn't believe in super-heroes anymore and is recruited by the government to initiate a training programme where people with unique powers are to be recruited and trained by Zoom. A new team is formed consisting of Tucker aka Mega-Boy (Breslin) who can inflate any part of his body, Summer aka Wonder (Mara) who can control objects with her mind, Dylan aka Houdini (Cassidy) who can become invisible and Cindy aka Princess (Newman) who has super-strength. Time is slowly ticking by and the new team is far from ready. With Zoom not having any amount of faith in the children, his demoralising and uninterested attitude don't help things too much. The movie tries to blend every possible genre known to movie-making and makes a big mess of things. Multiple lose strings, scenes added without having anything to do with the storyline and unexplained parts plague the entire movie. The movie might just vaguely appeal to the average 7-year-old but still needs a lot to work on. Highly avoidable.

Thumbs up: Nothing at all

Thumbs down: Bad story, poor acting

Rating: 4.9/10

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Hellboy (2004)

Genre: Science-fiction/Fantasy/Drama/Action/Romance/Thriller

Starring: Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, Karel Roden

Towards the end of World War II, Adolf Hitler attempts at opening a dimensional portal and to free the Ogdru Jahad, a beast from another dimension in order to destroy the Allies. Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin (Roden) succeeds in opening the portal but their attempt is stubbed by an Allied attack on the portal, led by Prof. Trevor Broom (Hurt). Although the Nazi's attempt fails, a creature from the portal manages to pass through which the Allies adopt and name Hellboy (Perlman). Sixty years later, Hellboy grows up with Prof. Broom and does good for the world rather than evil. FBI agent John Meyers (Evans) is recruited by Broom to aid him in his Bureau and look after Hellboy. Rasputin's followers resurrect him and unleash a fearsome beast on the world which multiplies each time it dies. Its finally up to Hellboy to put a stop to Rasputin and prevent him from re-opening the portal. The movie does a very good job of mixing various elements together, yet the romance element does not seem to suit the movie and its plot and it makes it a tad boring. Probably if the focus was on the usual action and trying to solve the mystery, the movie would have been a less of a bore. The movie leaves behind a lot of lose and unanswered strings which make you wonder what really is going on. Probably they would get answered in upcoming sequences, yet the audience needs to have a basic understanding of the plot if one expects them to enjoy the subsequent parts. Its not something entirely new, but not something completely boring.

Thumbs up: Good thrills and action

Thumbs down: Unanswered and messy plot

Rating: 6.4/10

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Thriller/Action/Drama

Starring: Daniel Radciffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Toby Jones (voice)

The seventh installment of the revered Harry Potter series of children's books gets divided into two parts. The division probably reflected Voldemort and his horcruxes, but maybe not. Harry (Radcliffe) and Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy have destroyed two of the seven horcruxes, magical objects that hold the divided soul of Lord Voldemort (Fiennes). Voldemort despises Muggles or non-magical people and wishes to put an end to them, much to the disagreement of other magical folk. After Dumbledore's tragic death, Harry is left with the task of finding and destroying the 5 remaining horcruxes. Without destroying them, he cannot eventually kill Voldemort. In the previous movie, Harry and Dumbledore found a locket which is supposed to be one of the horcruxes, however, this locket turned out to be a fake, in which the original was stolen by a certain R.A.B. Harry, along with his friends Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson) are on a quest for R.A.B and the remaining horcruxes. As a personal opinion, I didn't particularly enjoy the seventh book and the movie reflected just the same. Like the previous movie, this one too simply picked up the major scenes of the movie and glued them together without making any logical sense. For someone completely unfamiliar with the book, this movie is a complete waste, in fact, many people who have read the book might feel a bit lost at some parts too. There was little attempt in making the movie exciting and even the parts which were slightly more exciting were either cut short for the sake of conserving screen time or were just plain boring. A huge disappointment and an outright insult to the book, felt as if it was made for the sake of being made.

Thumbs up: Special effects

Thumbs down: Bad editing, unexciting and boring

Rating: 5.9/10

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The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

Genre: Fantasy/Science-fiction/War/Comedy/Drama

Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

During the Vietnam War, a United States Army soldier, Bill Django (Bridges) gained enlightenment on how to make war more peaceful. His teachings and trainings taught soldiers how to use their minds more effectively, which in turn led to the foundation of The New World Army. The army developed psychic soldiers aka super soldiers aka Jedi warriors who could use their minds to higher degree than normal humans. Lyn Cassidy (Clooney) went on to become one of the most powerful of these Jedi Warriors, much to the envy of co-soldier Larry Hooper (Spacey). Years later, a failed journalist, Bob Wilton (McGregor) decides to go and cover the Iraq war in a hope to redeem his life and prove to the world that he is not a failure. He stumbles across Cassidy and accompanies him on a secret mission of whose objective and location is not known to Cassidy. The movie has a very typical George Clooney humour and is the only reason one must watch it. There is no real end objective to the movie. It feels empty and you really don't know what point it is driving at. Performances are probably the only highlight, especially George Clooney's and apart from that, there isn't anything else in the movie. Only for Clooney fans.

Thumbs up: Mr. Clooney

Thumbs down: Plot

Rating: 6.9/10

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Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Adventure/Fantasy

Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke

Three friends are fed up with their adult lives. The friends hardly seem to meet each other and they don't really call themselves 'friends' anymore. Lou (Coddry) gets into hospital for what seems to be a suicide attempt and Adam (Cusack) and Nick (Robinson) decide to pay him a visit. The three friends, along with Jacob (Duke) Adam's nephew, decide to go to Kodiak Valley and refresh their childhood memories from there. They are sitting in a hot tub outside their room when they accidentally spill Chernobly, an illegal Russian drink, which damages the tubs electronics and sends them back in time. The mysterious tub mechanic tells them that they have to do the same things what they did back in 1986 or else the 'butterfly effect' might create disastrous consequences in the future. Lou doesn't want to go get beaten up by six guys, again, Adam doesn't want to break up with his high school crush and get stabbed in the eye with a fork, again, and Nick doesn't want to have sex with Tara because he is married in the future. The adventure back in time change a lot of things in all their lives and Jacob finally finds out who his dad is. The movie really isn't the average sex-comedy that one would expect and it makes a really good watch. Some parts do get a bit serious and dragged but its tolerable. What was really missing is that one stupidly hilarious scene, which sadly wasn't there. A good watch with a group of friends which would make you want to live another unforgettable night.

Thumbs up: Great entertainer

Thumbs down: Average humour

Rating: 6.4/10

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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Genre: Science-fiction/Fantasy/Action/Adventure

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz (voice)

Young Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) is young no more and is now a Jedi warrior in training. Multiple solar systems have decided to break-off from the Republic, making it difficult for the few Jedi Knights to maintain peace and order within the galaxy. Senator Amidala (Portman) is facing an assassination threat since she is spear-heading the movement for the creation of an Army of the Republic to assist the Jedi Knights. Obie-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) and Anakin are assigned to protect Senator Amidala at all costs. Their adventures reveal that Count Dooku (Lee) a former Jedi has joined the dark side and is planning a well strategies attack on the Republic. Meanwhile, Obie-Wan learns of the existence of a huge clone army made for the assistance of the Republic, on the orders of a Jedi leader who died several years ago. Anakin falls in love with Amidala and lets his emotions supersede his Jedi mind. The movie is a decent continuation from where it last left, yet there seems to be an evident disconnect from the main storyline. The movie feels like a random filler to the main outline and lacks any kind of climax or twist which would make one want to wait for the next movie. The graphics are extremely refined, although they do look like a video game from time-to-time. A great movie for Star Wars fans with some very good action pieces, but still does not live up to the mark of the earlier movies.

Thumbs up: Great graphics, good action

Thumbs down: Feels disconnected from the main plot

Rating: 7.0/10

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Toy Story 2 (1999)

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Drama/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, Wayne Knight

Andy's toys are having a good time as usual. The only person not having a good time is Woody (Hanks) whose arm gets accidentally ripped while playing with Andy. Woody gets shelved where he finds an old toy Wheezy the Penguin whom everyone had assumed was lost. A garage sale is coming up and Wheezy goes up for sale. Woody tries to save Wheezy but gets left behind and later stolen by Al (Knight) the owner of Al's Toy Store. A Japanese toy museum wants to show case toys of Woody and his Roundup Gang, but the toys are now rare and hard to find. Al steals Woody to complete his collection and make lots of money. Woody and his Roundup Gang comprising of Jessie (Cusack), Stinky Pete (Grammer) and his horse Bullseye were once a famous cartoon show and all his accessories and toys were very famous. A new era of space toys brought an end to Woody's show. Buzz Lightyear (Allen) swears to save Woody as an act of repayment for what Woody had done for him in the previous movie. With a few other toys, they undertake a perilous journey to get to Al's Toy Store and rescue Woody before it gets too late. The movie doesn't really give the same feeling its predecessor did and there always is this feeling that something is missing. The movie gets a bit boring at one point but swiftly picks up pace and improves. The animations are fabulous for a movie of its time and would do a good job in entertaining an 8-year-old. The previous movie had some high points and some very dramatic and gripping scenes which the second movie completely lacks. A great movie nonetheless with some scope for improvement.

Thumbs up: Animation, hugely entertaining

Thumbs down: Not as dramatic or gripping as the earlier movie

Rating: 8.3/10

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Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)

Genre: Science-fiction/Fantasy/Adventure/Drama/Comedy

Starring: Chris D'Owd, Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly, Anna Faris, Meredith MacNeil

Three friends, Ray (D'Owd), Toby (Wootton) and Pete (Kelly) are siting in a pub and are discussing a topic they are least likely to discuss, time travel. Ray believes in it and reads various fictitious books on time travel. He meets Cassie (Faris) who claims to be a professional time traveller and who knows Ray from the future because he becomes really famous. Toby, who is a film fanatic, writes a crazy movie story which unknown to him would lead him to an adventure of a life-time. Pete refuses to believe Ray's story and after taking a piss, sees a pub full of dead people including himself. He allegedly went through a time-leak and managed to see the future and is badly shaken. The three friends start an adventure through time and realise that Toby's crazy movie idea made them famous, so famous that they might just get killed. The movie attempts at a wacky and crazy plot and almost manages to pull it off. the first half is confusing, slow and boring and its only during the second half that the movie picks up pace and starts making more sense. Perhaps if the movie was more than just going in and out of time and had some interesting parallel plots running alongside it, the movie might have been an even better watch. A nice movie, but may not appeal to all.

Thumbs up: Attempt at a great plot

Thumbs down: Slightly dragged and may not appeal to every ones tastes

Rating: 6.8/10

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Toy Story (1995)

Genre: Animation/Drama/Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy

Starring (voice): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, John Morris, Jim Varney

As kids, we all were fond of one toy that we adored and loved more than our lives.Woody (Hanks) was one such toy that Andy (Morris) just loved. Andy's life would get torn apart if anything happened to Woody, at least that was what everyone thought. Andy's birthday was the best day of Andy's life but the worst for his toys, who come alive when Andy is not around.The toys were always scared that they would get replaced by a new and more attractive toy and thrown in the dump. In comes Buzz Lightyear (Allen) an action figure of a spaceman, who thinks that he is the real Buzz Lightyear and can shoot down aliens with his 'laser' and can actually fly. Buzz becomes Andy's new favourite toy and Woody gets slowly pushed to the sidelines. Woody cannot digest the fact that he is no longer Andy's favourite toy and hatches a plot to push Buzz out the window. Things get messy when the other toys learn of Woody's foul play and rally against him. The movie has got brilliant animations for a movie of its era. Its the perfect plot that the doctor ordered and would make any 10-year-old jump with joy. Even though the movie doesn't have any serious humour, it still manages to pull off the plot very well. One of the finest animations ever.

Thumbs up: Entertaining and gripping throughout

Thumbs down: Maybe some more humour if it does any good

Rating: 8.3/10

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