Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

Action lovers! This is the right place for y’all.

Embark on an amazing sojourn to awesomeness. This is exactly how the first part should have been ‘presented’ which however was a debacle owing to the lack of oomph factor. A perfect example of how a change in the direction of a franchise could actually assist in escalating the standards of a flick.

I think Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor did a fabulous job. Bits of Crank franchise and Jonah Hex came revisiting with their typical style of direction. Screenplay was good then again we should not forget who the legendary writer was – The exceptional Goyer himself. Yet another great story under his baggage, Goyer never fails to surprise (I am still waiting like hell for the third Batman venture).

Nicolas gets better and better. We have seen him do crazy movies and we have seen him do sensible ones. Sometimes we have discovered him in every single Hollywood flick. It would definitely be justified if we start using ‘As busy as ….. Nicolas Cage’ phrase to define diligence.

He has come up with really class acting in several good flicks before and we have seen the likes of Face Off, City of Angels, Lord of War, Bad Lieutenant, Next, Con Air, Matchstick Men, Windtalkers, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Rock and of course the National Treasure franchise. His experience has elevated his standards for sure and acting comes naturally to him now.

The greatest thing about the movie was its constant entertainment. The flick kept on making the provision of reasons to keep the adrenaline rush surging, gushing and soaring all the time. The cameras caught minute details like the burnin’ ride of Blaze and the metamorphosing of Blaze to Ghost Rider along with providing a better glimpse of the laughing spook and the formidable protagonist. Cage raged and fumed like inferno and basked in ashes of the villains throughout the flick.

That is how we expect a comic to be – incessantly thrilling and exhilarating and that was exactly how the movie was designed.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was all about Nicolas Cage and his alter self Ghost Rider and I don’t mean that figuratively. It was him all along that carried the movie pretty well. The villain Roarke was as good as non-existent and naught, his impotence eventually - equally frustrating (Cage made him look like a chihuahua). Johnny Whitworth delivered a little bit entertainment however it still wizened against the mighty Rider’s performance.

The sequel again failed to match the standards of any other ‘really good’ superhero flick in terms of ultimate demo yet stood firm with the mere class, style, laugh, ride, shrug, roar, spin, nods and dance (watch out for those moves) of Cage.

Note: The flick is not for whiners and crybabies who ask for Academy type material all the time. Strictly for Cage’s fans, Goyer’s diehards and for entertainment seekers.

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Speechless ….. !!!!

Now that’s how you do a CGI ............

Thanks to Spielberg who could so well carry it with his amazing technique of motion capturing rather action capturing where he moves the camera along with the protagonist on the screen. Beautifully manifested Tintin couldn’t have received a warmer welcome to the film industry.

I am a big fan of Tintin comics and of course the animated series as well, especially the unrelenting Captain Haddock and who could forget the amazing duos Thompson and Thomson with their clumsy behavior who always managed to giggle me every now and then. Tintin and Snowy however used to be my heroes solving mysteries and defying danger at every step. When I learnt there is going to be a movie and none other than Steven Spielberg is gonna direct it, I was more than elated.

A perfect 3D fest right from the inception of the movie till the end, the movie has taken CGI to the next level with Spielberg’s classic method of action capturing and boy I must say I was amazed as I kept on pointing how beautiful the effects appeared with every scene. Everything seemed so real, right from their countenances to the environment – the beautiful sea, the vast desert and every tiny detail. The story took us to one hell of a ride with Tintin solving the mystery and connecting the dots for us. Captain Haddock had never been portrayed that brilliantly, keeping in mind every tiny details and facial expressions. Snowy appeared ditto as it used to be in the cartoons and equally cute too.

Tintin, superbly portrayed by Jamie Bell, finds a Unicorn ship in the market and buys it only to encounter hell himself in the form of Sakharine (Daniel Craig) who is keen to get the ship for there is something in the ship that interests him. Tintin finds himself in trouble as Sakharine is hell-bent on getting the ship from the hands of the lad. Tintin however smells the foul play and since then takes us on a joy ride connecting the pieces together with the assistance of Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis – A perfect choice for the role …. He has gone so much better ….. Andy Serkis for president !) who has been kidnapped by Sakharine.

The movie gives you a unique experience of 3D and motion capturing which I think is a must watch. Steven knows how to impeccably exploit technology. Go watch this one if you want to witness awesomeness in 3D.

Immortals (2011)

Spellbound !!!

Magnificent....Action has never touched such heights before.

Big fan of Greek mythology while‘Immortals’ was everything that I wanted it to be. A wonderful script, brilliant cast as well as unmatched action.

King Hyperion (Micky Rourke) is in search of Epirus bow to destroy humanity by unleashing the Titans. Gods cannot interpose unless he does so. Till that time the people of Greece witness ‘hell’ as King Hyperion is bent on seeking the legendary weapon to release the Titans at any cost. Theseus, (Henry  Cavill) who has been trained by none other than Zeus himself, is the only hope who has the ability to stop the cruel King before he tramples everyone who stands in his way. Phaedra, (Freida Pinto) who is the real virgin Oracle priestess has the ability to foresee the future, assists Theseus on his quest to stop the mad king. Zeus played by Luke Evans was one of the finest portrayals I have ever seen. The disappointed and the wrathful God filled the air with some class acting. The final scenes stole the show to the otherwise normal action flick. The whole scenario metamorphoses into a bloody gore with a lot of stabbing and lancing followed by heads and limbs falling all over the place. A bloody mess and that was exactly what I paid to see.

I can’t comment on Henry Cavill’s part but Mickey Rourke did an amazing job as a villain and I must say he carried the flick single-handedly doing all sorts of ugly and arrogant things you could only imagine. His self-disfigured blood thirsty army was the most dreaded in the entire Greece and they certainly brought everlasting chaos to the country in the search of the mighty weapon.

The epic clash between the hordes of Hyperion and the Greeks led by Theseus was amazing; however the fight between The Olympians and the Titans totally stole the show. I was literally jumping off my seat with every blow.

Go for this one if you are a blood-thirsty bloke for action. You won’t be disappointed. If you are not an action-buff then save yourself the trouble and watch a chick-flick instead.

Righteous kill (2008)

"Man they are back again for the third time ... The awesome twosome - Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, once again, together, to recreate the magic of HEAT and of Godfather: Part 2 and they are gonna share the screen space as “friends” in this one ... so read the bulletins but the question is, did they succeed?

I’d say not really although they almost managed to touch the same class by the grace of the plot. The story seemed too apparent right from the beginning where Robert De Niro, an NYPD detective, seems to be narrating a series of murder that he committed. The second parallel version manifests Al Pacino, his best mate and a long time partner in the same pursuit, trying to catch the criminal along with De Niro. The killings slowly start to point all fingers towards De Niro, another indication that was leading towards an obvious plot, albeit that wasn’t exactly the case.

Right when one gets really bored of the evident storyline BOOM! comes the climax completing the picture and man, I must say, I was totally dazed when that happened even though the rest of the movie failed to enthuse me much. Russell Gewirtz definitely knows how to write a climax (Remember how beautifully he wrote it for The Inside Man!) and he still manages to rake in all the kudos with his plot.

I must add this about the two great actors here - so less did they share the screen space in the earlier flicks and yet it used to thrill us to watch them come face to face. All of that, spoiled in a jiffy yet I think the flick could have been much more of a success had they energized it a little bit. The aged cops made everything really boring in this one - even the chase eventually lasted a second or two without any theatrics. I must say, if anyone else could have done it then why waste such great talents as Al Pacino and De Niro?

Carla is at her sensuous best in the flick. Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo did their bit, chasing the wrong tail, well but that’s where they were steered as the script demanded. 50 Cents’ cameo was not needed at all.

I’d recommend it for those who love suspense coz boy they would be thrilled with the climax although the movie is a typical thriller which generally ends with something like that so even they would cuss me for the suggestion.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Wow !!!!!

Watch this flick and you wouldn’t be able to get it out of your head. This is one of the finest movies I’ve ever seen. Everything scores here – Story, direction, plot, music, cinematography, screenplay, action, visual effects and to top that all brilliant acting by Andy Serkis.

The story is really touching and firstly you wouldn’t be able to decide whose side you are on. The poor creature’s (Caesar’s played by Andy Serkis) who lost everything on the very day he was born, who had a tragic curve in his life, or the ugly side of mankind manifested by the likes of Tom Felton (Yes our very own Harry Potter’s franchise kid Draco Malfoy), Brian Cox and the entire mankind which is eyed by the apes as their enemies.

Andy Serkis, my my, he just doesn’t stop. He has always entertained us and haven’t we felt that extreme sympathy for an ape before in our hearts when he had stepped in the shoes of the legendary Kong in Peter Jackson’s flick. I still remember his superb performance in Einstein and Eddington and of course as Gollum in the Lord of the rings. This is altogether a sudden whim of emotions revisiting us from the likes of King Kong, here in the form of Caesar the intelligent ape. I must say you’d realize the sympathy in you while watching the movie and you’d wish the poor creature to come triumphant in his venture eventually as ‘Pathos’ is definitely going to overshadow your ugly side as you’d reach the climax.

The story begins with a tragic scene where a mother chimpanzee is captured from a jungle along with other apes to be experimented upon. I felt goosebumps already and I was excited that the flicks gonna be a joyride after all. The flick didn’t disappoint me a bit from that point onwards and I wasn’t surprised. I was jumping on my seat with awe at Caesar’s (Andy Serkis) understanding and intelligence. Caesar (the ape with brains) is taken as a pet by James Franco who has a father of his own suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Caesar happened to be the offspring of the mother ape that had died after she was experimented with a serum that enhanced intelligence which brought in the changes in him as well. James keeps few of the serum for his father and experiments them on his dad as he has a strong belief that the serum works just fine and that it was going to revive his father. As his father recuperates Caesar begins to grow and becomes a liability. After an incident Caesar is held captive in a cell where he weeps and craves to return to his home. It was really touching to watch him draw the window of his home on the blank wall with high hopes. James is meanwhile being duped by Brian Cox and Tom Felton that Caesar was being well taken care of. All of the wrong doings and incivilities on the part of mankind lead Caesar to rebel against them all.

There was no need to cast Freida Pinto in the ‘Rise’ as she was, literally speaking, not there in the movie. Franco was ‘alright’ in the acting department however he has been feeling ‘sleepy’ lately (and by that yes I direct my fingers towards the academy) so that’s the least that we can expect from him.

The flick has certain instants that define how the movie happens to be a prequel when the mention of Icarus being lost in a newspaper is manifested. That certainly brought a grin to my countenance as I happily connected the dots.

The movie is a must watch. I’d give it an 8 and hope it continues to score more with its awesome music, story, plot and characters. Go watch this one even if you aren’t an ape fan.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Where do I start with this one! (Remember I am not amused at all ... That’s my reluctance talking)

I must say that the hype the flick was getting as the release date neared was too much. I had high expectations when people started comparing it to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows -2 (of course, in terms of gross earnings). I later realized that it wasn’t about how good the movies were actually but about the ‘nationality’ quotient that was attached to it. Americans and the British have been a part of this cold war for decades to prove their standards and in an endeavor to prove they are right, have left no stone unturned.

We all are big fans of the Harry Potter franchise. There was supposed to be no comparison made because if we had to choose one from any other flick Vs Harry our fingers would involuntarily point towards the wizard’s exceptional story.

Now coming back to the flick Captain America: The first Avengers I must say I entered the theatre with very high expectations (don’t do that) although every one on this planet who is a marvel fan knows the story behind the legendary Captain. We all knew that the story was bound to hover around the World War which was contemporary to our hero’s heroic deeds.

The choice of the actor was most apposite as Chris Evans stepped in the shoes of Captain America. The visual effects were brilliant not to forget the acting and the little amount of action it had. Mind boggling visual effects, as it was difficult to make out the body Chris Evans had, prior to being Captain, was actually shrunk. Skinny Steve was something, I must admit because I was in awe for a long time.

Tommy Lee Jones was in the movie while I forget it all the time because his role was so short that it seemed he was hardly there. Nothing was remarkable about the movie. I don’t seem to remember any particular stunt that was eye-catching even. Hugo Weaving seemed promising for a while but, out his light blew with a flash, definitely not what I had expected. 

Story? We all knew! So what was there to offer?

Same thing can be said about Potter but mind you, it still had superb action, superb visual effects, superb music, a superb direction and a proper screenplay to offer. Captain America: The first avenger lagged everything except maybe the visual effects part which too was short-lived.

Source Code (2011)

Ladies and Gentleman ... Duncan Jones .... once again.

After creating a beautiful movie like 'Moon' Duncan has done it again. Albeit the story wasn't written by him this time (Ben Ripley wrote it), his direction was just brilliant. A story like Source Code needed a director like him eh! and of course great actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga. Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden and Russell Peters did their bit in the flick.

Source code had more than a brilliant story to offer. It had both action and drama intermingled and must I say it proved to be a pretty good fest altogether. Jake Gyllenhaal is getting better day by day, whoa he was already good wasn't he since his teen years (Donnie Darko and October Sky still rule). With great movies like The Day after tomorrow, Brokeback mountain, Jarhead, Zodiac, Rendition, Brothers,
Prince of Persia and Love and other drugs, he has another thriller to his name – Source Code where he Is the protagonist once again.

In the movie he poses as a soldier who wakes up to find himself a part of a mission wherein he is supposed to find a bomber who is going to strike again as is told to him by Vera Farmiga. Source Code enables him to take someone else's identity and revisit those 8 minutes just before the train is brought to splinters by the bomb. No matter how many times he dies he is supposed to find the bomber and the bomb. The question is can he do it?

Watch the flick for yourself because it's an action packed thriller which would definitely rivet you to your seats till the end. Some class acting by Jake, Michelle and Vera. A must watch. 8 on 10