Reviews

The movie nicely portrays how a family might feel and react when one of their loved ones go missing. Hugh Jackman as the doting father has superbly portrayed the travails and the emotions that run through his family when his young daughter goes missing. He is ably supported by Maria Bello (as his wife and doting mom of their kids) and Terrence Howard (the neighbor whose family gets into the same situation as Jackman's).

The supporting cast includes the fine performance of Paul Dano (as Alex Jones) as a person with a low IQ who happens to be a suspect in this case. The detective as portrayed by Jack Gyllenhall has delivered a gritty and subdued performance in his pursuit to solve the case. Cinematography by Roger Deakins captures the chilly mood of the location as the essence of the characters. The 'suspense' part of the movie is fairly guessable for the average movie goer. Director Denis Villenuve has managed to present the story in a fair, just manner capturing the emotions of its lead characters as the story &/ situations in it unfolds.

I will rate this movie 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

I had least expectations of the movie when I went in to see 'The Conjuring'. Yet, the movie stumped me with its gripping storyline, good choice of acting cast and a neatly set pace. I could sense the tension build up inside me as the movie progressed somewhere down the middle. Director James Wan has ensured that the audience get a peek view on the Perron and Warren families at the start of the movie as also on the sinister events that is set to come. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens and Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor as the Perrons are absolutely into the skin of their characters.

In horror stories, the perfect blending of thrills with chills is primarily aided by very good cinematography. Cinematography has been very well done here. The pace of the movie has been nicely set with a good screenplay.

I would recommend this movie for a fellow movie (or horror) buff to see alone on a late night time.

My rating would be a 8 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

Director Kosinski's latest offering 'Oblivion' is truly visually spectacular. The visuals of nearly ruined earth post the Scavengers attack is truly excellent. Kosinski has put together a science fiction movie with melodrama and Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko and Morgan Freeman in the lead roles.

Cruise has portrayed tremendous depth to his character as the person who is ravaged by the memories of his life in a pre-war Earth. Olga has been able to emote and act well but is unable to demo her depth of involvement with the character. Freeman has been able to provide a stellar support role to the entire storyline.

Cinematography (especially in combination with the spectacular CGI) has been great. Editing is appreciable. Story content is gripping enough although it is very much predictable. Felt it dragged a just little long.

My rating would be a 6 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

Quentin Tarantino's latest offering 'Django Unchained' is up to the mark in terms of its storyline and the way it has been presented on screen. Tarantino has taken in a revenge story in the backdrop of slavery around the time of the (about to break-out) American civil war.

Foxx as 'Django' has put in a splendid show of the title character. He initially struggles a bit in the role but later (in the movie) recoups to do very well. Christoph Schultz as 'Dr. King' is the one who steals the show. He has put in a great performance and has absolutely sunk in self into the character of 'Dr. King'. DiCaprio as the antagonist 'Candie' has been absolutely breathtaking in his portrayal. The scene where he explains the dimples on the skull is terrific!. Kerry Washington as 'Broomhilda' has essayed her role well. SLJ as 'Stevens' has done great as well. All these lead players have been supported by a very capable supporting cast.

The Cinematography is great. Editing could have been a bit better. I felt that the storyline could have been a bit crisp as I really felt the duration of the movie (a long span of 165 minutes). A nice one here from Tarantino, but definitely not his very best outing so far.

My rating would be a 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

I walked in to this movie with high expectations from Spielberg (as usual). One of his recent past movie 'The War Horse' was elegantly presented on screen by him. In this movie 'Lincoln', Spielberg gives us (the audience) a fine glimpse into the life and workings of the 16th President of the United States presiding over a period of internal strife of Civil War. Daniel Day Lewis has literally sunk his teeth into the character to portray Lincoln and all along the movie we (as audience) observe and feel that Abe Lincoln is on screen and not DDL. DDL has been ably supported by Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln in a role that shows her in sheer pain and despair owing to the death of one of their sons. Tommy Lee Jones stars as a slavery-abolition favoring congressman Stevens and perfectly fits into that role. The rest of the supporting cast is equally good and impressive including Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The movie gives the audience a fair understanding of the heavy polarized political environment of the day during the ongoing civil war. It also tells us on how Lincoln attempted every guile of the political trade in order to ensure that slavery of African American people is ended with, war is brought to a close and the intense wrangling and maneuver along the way. The movie also gives a glimpse of Lincoln as a grief-torn father, a loving husband apart from being a shrewd political leader. Kudos to Spielberg for bringing about the various facets of Lincoln in an astonishing manner.

DDL deserves to win the 'Best Actor' Oscar for his portrayal here and I see that this movie has chance to grab few more. Overall, I feel that the movie has portrayed Lincoln in all possible facets of his life, in a best possible manner.

My rating would be a 8 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren star as Hitch and Alma respectively in this movie made around the filming of Hitch's blockbuster movie 'Psycho' in 1960. This movie is sort of a biopic blended with fictional accounts based on a book of Stephen Rebello 'Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho'. Hopkins nicely portrays the much suave and gritty Hitch in here. Mirren gives a great performance as Alma ably supporting his highly acclaimed Director hubby. The movie primarily focuses on the marital tensions between the two while providing a glimpse into Hitch's obsession with Blonde women, being a peeping tom as well as why he's regarded as the 'Master of Suspense'. Johansson as Leigh, Biel as Miles provide ample support to the main characters. All other supporting actors and actresses have done a good job as well.

The Director tries to provide a first hand account on the lives of this highly acclaimed screen couple (Alma is a highly capable Movie Editor herself). The friction between the couple over the pledge of their home in order to independently finance the movie, the ever presence friendship between a screenwriter and Alma have all been succinctly portrayed well on screen. The movie keeps a slick narrative of the happenings and does not seem dull at any point. However, since this is a picture of actual events blended with fiction and given that most of the actual events are all very much available and known in the public domain, the movie is all along highly predictable. Anyway, that does not diminish the fine acting of the lead and supporting characters in this movie.

My rating is a 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

Kathryn Bigelow (Oscar winning director of 'The Hurt Locker') brings us a very good portrayal of the events that lead up to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden (OBL). She has aptly collaborated with writer Mark Boal (a journalist himself) in order to nicely bring out those moments on screen. Jessica Chastain (as Maya) delivers a fine yet subdued performance in her Analyst role that actually leads up to OBL's hideout in Pakistan. We get to witness many torture methods on detainees (especially water-boarding) that makes the movie a bit controversial. Yet, the Production Design and the Cinematography combines well with the Screenplay and provides the viewers a glimpse of the events as it unfolded at that time.

The supporting cast in the movie was quite good as well. Jason Clarke as Dan, Kyle Chandler as Station Chief Joe Bradley and James Gandolfini making a brief appearance as CIA Director Leon Panetta were impressive in their performances. It looks like most of the movie had been shot in India (adjoining Pakistan, in order to depict Pakistan-like environment). Although the movie starts off in a slow note, it really picks up pace at the halfway point and goes on to deliver from there. The scenes involving the Navy SEAL raid in the night environment stands out as impressive. The movie strikes a right chord all along the narration with the audience.

The movie kept me gripped for a while at the start, became engrossing in the middle and was getting towards predictability at the end. Mark Boal aptly deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for his research and writing of the events for the screen (although some of the facts as mentioned in the movie are questionable and was aptly pointed out by other reviewers in this forum). My overall rating would be a 7 out of 10.

Regards, Ganesh.

Pain and Suffering are Universal. Les Miserables too!. The notion this movie portrays is also Universal in the sense that the indomitable human spirit survives the worst in life with an absolute gusto. As the characters undergo Pain and Suffering moment after moment, the emotional journey becomes an excellent envelope of the story. It is this emotional journey that holds the movie together.

Acting (& Singing live!!): I knew that Hugh Jackman is highly talented, but this movie brings out his rather quiet side skill of singing as well. His acting and singing are absolutely superb!. Special mention for 'What kind of a man am I' and 'Bring him Home'. Jackman brings up an exquisite portrayal of the redemption-seeking ex-prisoner. His performance stands out from the rest of the cast. Russel Crowe as the Inspector Javert has done excellent. The rest of the reviews point out that his singing has not been even up to the mark (as required for a heavyweight character as his) but I found that his rendition has been great. Javert's monologue before his suicide deserves a special mention. I would say that he has been absolutely world class in his performance. Anne Hathaway portrays the poor Fontaine struck in a rut on pain, suffering and despair. Her rendition of 'I dreamed a dream' will definitely notch her awards and accolades. Samantha Barks as the heart-broken Eponine gives a great performance as well. I felt that the weak link in terms of singing was Amanda (as Cosette). The comic relief provided by Cohen and Carter was very good. Everyone else including Marius and their friends, as I see, performed remarkably well in their portrayal of their characters.

Cinematography, Costumes and Direction: Cinematography set against a backdrop of the 19th century post-revolution France is excellent. Costumes are perfectly apt for all the characters. Director Tom Hooper has provided us a stunning movie portrayal of the stage version. Perfectly adapted for the big screen, the movie is as close as it could get to Hugo's book. Director's insistence on live singing by the actors has made the movie an excellent treat to watch. His portrayal of the pain and suffering on the faces of various characters through close-ups throughout the movie is marvelous!.

I have not seen the stage version yet, but would like to experience the same given that I felt emotionally drenched out (and hence feeling much better about grief and pain) after the movie.

My rating would be a 9 out of 10. The movie is worth watching few times in order to sink in with the emotions and should definitely be owned in a DVD version as a collector material. Regards, Ganesh.

Wahlberg, Crowe and Zeta-Jones star in this murky political drama that gives us more than a fair glimpse on a corrupt and divisive city that is broken and far beyond repair. Wahlberg presents a subdued portrayal of Billy Taggert who has moved out of the police force (owing to the presence of an incriminating evidence against him in a controversial shooting incident) and is out living as a Private Investigator. New York Mayor Nick hires him for a private job that Billy is willing to lap up for the need of money. That's where all the criss-cross starts and Billy gets entangled in more than one quirky place &/ person from there on.

Wahlberg has portrayed his character well although nothing much could be done in terms of his character development owing to the presence of a lot of key players in the story. His side-show romance with the PuertoRican girl is a totally wasted time of the plot line. Crowe, as the corrupt and mean New York Mayor has given a fine performance (minus the typical NY accent, which was missing!). Zeta-Jones stars as his rather shady wife who has her own motives. She has done well with the limited scope of her character in the story. Wright gives a fine performance as the NY Police Commissioner whose ambitions run deep than the NY Subway trains.

Overall, Director Hughes has presented a story with key players having done well. It seems to me that the Director chose a very limited plot with such a varied skill-set of actors to begin with. That is a big drawback. Cinematography is good and so is Editing. I would say that if you have nothing else useful to do on a fine Saturday morning, please watch this one. It would definitely keep you engrossed, at least for a while, before you might lose interest. However, I did not.

My rating would be a 6 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

I was visibly in tears when I finished watching this movie. Watts, McGregor and the children (especially Holland and the little one Pendergast) have vividly portrayed the sufferings encountered as a family caught in a Tsunami while on vacation in Thailand. The acting is exemplary, award-worthy ones. The children portrayed the agony and the pain that one might go through when they're separated from their parents and not knowing what has happened to them. The movie gives us a glimpse of what would have been the state of mind of thousands of families that lost their loves ones forever.

From the Direction perspective, Juan Antonio Bayona has picked up a story that has been well told on screen. Cinematography has excellent as well. The shots involving the slow-motion effects of watts towards the end of the movie deserve special mention. Editing is great. The story and the screenplay keeps us hooked to the movie.

I sense that the movie was primarily shot in Spain and was first released in Spain and then later for the world-wide audience. But still, good movies reach audience somehow through word-of-mouth. I felt that this movie should have had a mainstream release in Hollywood to have had a wide ranging reach and effect.

One of the best movies that I have ever come across with. A must-watch for those who would like to understand how to cope up with pain as a result of loss and suffering.

My rating would be a 8 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

This movie was mentioned as the last Jackie Chan action movie. So, I felt that Jackie would bow out with a bang (of action stunt sequences along with a good comedy storyline). It turned out to be a mixed bag. While some of the action sequences were great (the one at the underground facility involving sofa, photo shoot material and the opening sequence), others (those that happened in the remote island) were quite a drab. Still, Jackie is an entertainer and a true performer to the core in whatever he does.

The supporting cast proved to be just fine in the movie. One thing that annoyed me throughout the movie was that I was unable to properly figure out what's being spoken in terms of dialog by the Chinese actors. But, that did not prove to be a dampener to the storyline as one can easily figure out what might happen next.

Nearing 60 years of age, Jackie may not be at his perilous best, yet he still inspires action stars throughout Asia as well as the world.

My rating would be a 6 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

I did not have great expectations from the movie when I walked in to the hall. But, after watching the movie I was impressed on a lot of factors. This one is an action movie outright with murder(s) mystery thrown in. I felt the action sequences in the movie (although set-pieces here and there) were executed very well. Tom Cruise as the Military Cop 'Jack Reacher' gives a rather subdued performance that really bodes well for the character as well as the movie. Rosamund Pike as the Defence Attorney for the accused has also done well. The supporting cast of Jenkins and others give a very good support and thrust to the storyline to have it race forward.

That brings us to the Screenplay and Direction. That's both by Chris Mcquarie. I felt that the humor-laced screenplay was pretty good. As a director, Chris tries to ensure that the story moves on in a steady pace although we (as the audience) get the jigsaw puzzle figured out somewhere in the middle of the movie. Slick editing and good cinematography ensures that the audience interest lingers on.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie given the way Cruise portrayed the character of 'Reacher'. Guess that we've more in line in terms of sequels as this happens to be a home production of Cruise.

My rating would be a 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

When I walked in to see this movie, I had a firm expectation that this will be sure a fiery one and bingo it did from the start!!!. Daniel Craig reprises his role as 007 and has portrayed it extremely well. Of the 3 he has done so far as 007, I would rank this as his 2nd best (after Casino Royale). I feel that Craig portrays the 'human' blend of the super spy stunningly well. He brings out the darker side of the character by way of his emotions. Kudos to him for his excellent portrayal of the character. Dame Dench puts in a superb performance as well as 'M'. It was a bit sad to see her character being handed over to Ralph Fiennes. However, the lady packs punch when it comes to acting. Ben Wishaw as the new 'Q' also impresses. We get to see that the new actors are getting blended into their (future) characters very well. Naomie as Eve &/ Moneypenny is impressive too. Bernice did not had much to do in the movie. Special mention to Javier Bardem for his good portrayal of the villain character. The one I really enjoyed in the movie was the humor throughout.

Kudos to Sam Mendes for his great directorial work. Cinematography by Deakins is great as well. The interest on the story holds on because of the cinematography by Deakins and excellent editing by Baird. However, the director could have kept the show a bit crisp towards the end although it still musters through because of the action sequence in the climax.

Special kudos to the producers from my end for keeping the interest in the 007 series alive and kicking. I feel that Craig is one of the best Bond selections to have been ever made (if not the best!). Looking forward to see Craig in action for couple more of 007.

My rating would be a 8 out of 10. I would have voted more if not for the dragging towards the end of the movie.

Regards, Ganesh.

I had no high expectation for the movie when I went in, although I was clearly surprised. JGL as the bike messenger in a larger setting as a place like New York was excellent in his portrayal of the character. I would say that he got into the skin of his character and was up to the mark in that role. Dania as his fellow bike-riding girlfriend was impressive as well. Micheal Shannon as the corrupt cop portrayed it very well.

What was highly impressive about the movie is its slick pace of story telling mode and editing. Director Koepp makes sure that by telling the story in a non-linear way, the audience feel the grip of the movie and are able to connect the (missing) dots themselves (though, it is not that difficult to figure it out!!). This slick pace of story telling makes up for the rather (wafer) thin story line and the (more than) predictable end outcome of the movie. Loved it, looking forward to own it DVD shortly.

My rating is a 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

Frankly, I had very high expectations of the sequel. When I went in to watch the movie, I expected a lot of hi-tension action. But, the movie seriously lacked the same. Liam Neeson reprises his role as a retired intelligence agent taking out people who come after him seeking revenge. He excels in the scenes showing affection &/ concern towards his daughter and (ex) wife. That's it. I expected a lot more from Neeson in terms of action but there is nothing much. This time around, he teams up with his daughter to rescue his (ex) wife from the captors. Overall, Liam Neeson's part could have been supplanted with more action scenes (with additional scenarios &/ stunts thrown around). But, I have to admit that this guy still rocks at age 60!.

I also felt that the Screen Play was crisp and fast moving. But, that's the only credit apart from Neeson in the film. The director could have done a lot better with more action scenes and scenarios and frankly, there is not much as such. Cinematography is above good and places in Istanbul (Turkey) have been picturized well. I understand that Turkey is a democratic and secular country but most of the background consisted only of mosques and veiled women. Strange though!!.

Overall, my rating for the movie is 6 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

I chose to see this movie after reading the IMDb reviews and I'm happy that I made that choice. Against the backdrop of a failing economy and towards a presidential election in the state of New Orleans, the film briefly explores the mob-psychology in a penny-pinching situation. The acting by the lead as well as the supporting actors are good. Brad Pitt highly excels in the 'professional enforcer' character. His philosophy that he does not like his victims to die in sheer pain (and hence the implied meaning in the film title) and would take them down by sheer surprise is indeed rare in professional enforcers. That also defines his working style as such. The character played by Richard Jenkins (actually a 'no name' character) called 'Driver' is equally matching Brad's wits in their conversations ('as long as things are with-in budget'; 'decisions are being taken by a committee / board' etc.). Ray's role demonstrates that in the mob-world, once a sin is committed against them and is also owned by, it follows them to their grave.

Given all the above, I found that Gandolfini's character occupied too much screen time for nothing. His interaction with Brad was going on and on on a topic (failing marriage, hooker-stuff etc.) was simply unrelated to the story that was going on. I wonder how Andrew let this happen as part of his screenplay. That's the only flaw that I noticed in the film.

Coming to Direction, Andrew Dominik managed to deliver goods by making sure that the viewers are hooked for the full film for its crispy narration. Just when I thought that the film is going somewhere, it actually finished!!. But, it was nice to have done that way!. Kudos Dominik, well done!!!.

My rating for the movie is a 7 out of 10. Regards, Ganesh.

An ensemble cast has done a great job in this all-out action film. Loved to see the gang of Stallone, Statham, Li, Norris, Hemsworth, Arnie, Willis in a single film. Stallone pulled off an excellent piece of acting this time around by making sure that he's off the directorial responsibilities. The film is packed with highly laughable and smacking one-liners not just from Arnie but also from (almost) everyone in the cast. Great to have come across the Norris memes as well. Would have loved to see more Li in action than just the starting sequence. Not sure whether he would be part of EX3 although it would be great to have him in the 3rd installment. Van Damme did highly well in the role of a villain. Put all together, much better done and executed than the first part.

Got a request for Mr.Stallone. Please do make sure that (Jackie) Chan ends up in the cast of EX3. I absolutely feel that would be the peak in terms of a casting coup for an action film.

My rating is 8 out of 10.

Thanks, Ganesh.

I watched this movie in India while on a stint there. The audience was mostly adult groups. I'm not sure how much the crowd knew about Marvel or it's comic book characters but I can surely say that they loved it. I was extremely enthralled to see all the superheros in a single movie and it far exceeded my expectations.

Of all the characters in the movie, the one that I was impressed most is the "HULK". Mark Ruffalo played this character to perfection. No other actor might have done this role that excellent as Mark did. The portrayal of a human side to a person considered superhero (as repeatedly demonstrated by HULK) is what endears me to HULK as my favorite comic book character ever.

RDJ, the Chrises (Evans and Hemsworth) were impressive as well. The roles of Hawkeye and Black Widow could have been enlarged a bit more and Renner and Johannson respectively played it with aplomb. The Villain as played by Tom (Loki) could not have been any meaner.

The screenplay fitted with witty lines and laughs thrown in between proved to be great as well. My hearty kudos to Joss Whedon for bringing together a spectacular show on screen. The music from Alan Silvestri was appreciable too.

Looking forward to the sequel very soon... and the next one should definitely have Spider Man and X-Men as well to make it more entertaining than ever...

Ganesh.