Green Lantern (2011)

Whaaaaaaaaaat ?

Well I am a big fan of DC Comics and yes of course the Green Lantern. The recent animated movies (and by that I mean First Flight) and not to mention the comics have always managed to keep me riveted. 

When I heard that there is going to be a movie on him, I was so excited that I wanted to watch the movie real bad. The trailer seemed so promising. I was elated when I found great names served in the same bowl – Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard. I had high expectations. (Don’t have that!)

I was so much disappointed by the flick I couldn’t believe the director Martin Campbell (can't believe he is the guy who directed awesome movies like Casino Royale, Goldeneye and The mask of Zorro)got all clumsy mid-way. The story was almost the same. It went actually pretty good albeit with some lame acting. Parallax had affected Peter and had metamorphosed him into a diabolical psychic who seemed so promising that I wanted a fair fight against him and Hal. But it got over so quickly that I didn’t have a chance to even root for him. The training part trained Ryan so fast and well that I was like What the…..?? When the Parallax invaded earth I wanted it to be goddamn destructive. I wanted to see maximum annihilation and some breathtaking scenes in the end but I was surprised by the fact that Ryan had the blob in his platter with a simple thought which he had learned during his training. Before the adrenaline could even pump, it was pacified by the last scene. Sinestro played by Mark Strong said that he would try vanquishing Parallax with his fearless army of green lanterns but goes out on the battlefield with only a couple of green lanterns who get their ass kicked big time. The Guardians prepared a yellow ring which was never used. I was like …. then why go for all the trouble bro! I felt deceived, duped and cheated big time. 

However the story was really great, had it been directed by the likes of Nolan, Slade, Vaughn, Cameron, Snyder or any other thoughtful directors it would have been a huge hit.

Blake Lively tried her best but I didn’t expect much from her either. Tim Robbins had such a small onscreen role that it makes one wonder - Was he even there? While Ryan tries to hover around hither and thither in the movie there are only a few scenes that had great 3D effects and which had me drooling, the rest was pretty lame. I kept on watching Sinestro eventually as I wanted to be hinted how he turns foul but that never happened either.

The green was not enough, should have tried another because it was all god-damn colorless.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Matthew, the mighty, Vaughn. I've seen all four of his movies and I must say he has never disappointed me so far. Layer Cake is still the most mind-boggling movie of all times. I can't get rid of Stardust from my mind and Kick-ass is the finest flick I've ever come across and my collection still retains it(Waiting for the sequel Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall, keeping my fingers crossed for that). Matthew Vaughn was definitely the guy I'd go for, that was the first reason why I wanted to go watch the flick.

Actually, there were a couple of more reasons why I wanted to see this movie real bad.

James McAvoy, reason no.2, with awesome movies like Wanted and Atonement to his name, 'him in the boots of Charles' - I was a bit inquisitive.

Reason no. 3 - Magneto, My favourite character in the X-men saga (with Cyclops sharing the same position in the list) I was not sure whether Michael Fassbender was the right person for it(But you know what? He was impeccable as Erik.) 

Reason no. 4 - The awesome trailer and the trailer's music. I couldn't help humming the music every now and then. 

Reason no. 5 - Kurt's(Nightcrawler's) father Azazel, I was looking forward for this guy because Marvel Comics had manifested him as one of the most powerful mutant(teleporting in a different dimension even in the Mutant Chronicles is no joke, Right?) Although they modify the story every now and then (Geez !!! what about the part where Mystique falls in love with Azazel in Germany and conceives Nightcrawler?)

Reason no. 6 - The Oscar nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence(for Winter's Bone) had bagged the role for Raven? "CURIOUS"...........!!!

Reason no. 7 - Rose Byrne, I am watching her movies ever since I saw her in Troy and Wicker Park. Was looking forward to watch her as the famous Moira MacTaggert.

Reason no. 8 - Kevin Bacon, Although the trailer 'hardly' showed him hither and thither, I was looking forward for his role as Shaw and guess what he proved to be the finest of all! Reason no. 8 - A big fan of Marvel Comics and the X-men saga. So no questions there.

Some great acting by the entire crew with the HellFire Club's lead Kevin Bacon as Shaw, Riptide(he never spoke, dumb-ass! What up), Jason Flemyng as Azazel(now that's called skillful), January Jones as Emma Frost and of course the X team as well with Nicholas Hoult as Beast, James McAvoy as Charles, Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique etc. The movie was kick-ass and worth watching. The screenplay was brilliant. Vaughn, no words to express his direction and Kevin Bacon along with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy stole the show.

Heat (1995)

I’m a big fan of Michael Mann. Public Enemies, Collateral and The insider are still my favourite flicks.

Man-o-man Too bad I saw this movie too late in the 21st century….. Had I known somehow about it I wouldn’t have wasted a single moment to watch this flick.

Boy these are the actors, the real grim Robert De Niro and the coolest Al Pacino. What a combination awesome rivalry, finest actors ever in the same bowl.

While Robert De Niro plays a thief who is the boss of a group which had guys like Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo in it, he keeps his head low and has rarely ever caught heat until this time with Al Pacino in the driving seat as a detective handling his team of cops, who is merciless yet cool and has never failed to nail any case. Al Pacino is keen on catching Robert De Niro whilst a robbery is being performed as it would mean a big sentence for De Niro but blunders on his end causes De Niro to flee more than once. A failed attempt to execute a fellow member of his group costs De Niro’s group a lot as he leaves one end of the cut thread open which leads Al Pacino’s team to slowly crawl over their necks.
While the movie went on I developed a soft corner for De Niro albeit he was a robber in the movie he was good at heart. He never gave precedence to love ever but eventually falls in love with a girl played by Amy Brenneman but things get ugly when she comes to know about his real identity. Al Pacino’s personal life is a mess too with two divorces and an attempt to rectify the third he keeps on trailing De Niro till the end. If it weren’t for his diligence in his work he would have been a good husband as well but not a genius at his job.
The screenplay was amazing. De Niro had one maxim that he always followed – ‘Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner' However he disobeys his own adage which costs him in the end.

The movie ends with a sad note although it was the most apposite ending to such a movie. Great direction by Michael Mann, great story …… Hats off to him…… Excellent choice (when he chose Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the lead roles). The movie could have gone unnoticed or called as a clichéd one if it weren’t for the superb performances by the two veteran actors.