The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Critic's Rating: 3.5
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard
Direction: David Slade
Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes


Movie Review: Let's just cut the fang (read vampire) and fuzzy hair (read werewolf) business and ie rweqget down to the essence of Eclipse: Team Edward or Team Jacob, so who's side are you on? Of course, that's the big question that is posed before Bella (Kristen Stewart) in Eclipse and forms the dramatic core of the film. But even before our girl-next-door can decide whether she wants to end up as the undead Mrs Cullen or the still-human wife of shape-shifting Jacob, we know it's time for all you Twihards to voice your vote on who's hotter: Edward (Robert Pattinson) or Jacob (Taylor Lautner). For, after all, that's the in-your-face declaration that Jacob makes in one of the most alluring scenes in the film. ``Face it, I'm much hotter than you,'' he tells the 109-year-old cold cut Cullen and slips under the covers -- six-packed and shirtless -- to warm a shivering Bella on a cold mountain top. And, while he's lending his body heat, he forewarns his rival about Bella's fondness for him. She just might choose me, he smugly says.

As for Bella herself, this one's indeed a difficult choice. She tries her best to decide between her two suitors by asking both to kiss her, and does seem to have a preference for fangs over fuzz. But the answer to Jacob's `Him or Me' remains iffy till the very end.

Bella's quintessential dilemma does form the leitmotif of Stephenie Meyer's third book, but Eclipse does have another strong undercurrent. It carries her teen chastity theme even further, as the three main protagonists battle their desires and define sex as a post-marriage experience in no-holds-barred terms. On the one hand, you have Bella declaring she's a virgin before her concerned dad, Charlie, who needless to say, is ecstatic about his daughter's sexual status. And on the other hand, you have a testosterone-heady Edward announcing his affinity for old-fashioned amour which includes stuff as innocuous as sharing iced tea on the porch with his sweetheart on a summer eve, interspersed with a few stolen kisses. And those too, only after he's taken her father's permission. The love bites shall come, but only after the wedding, he tells an estrogen-strung Bella.

So, what about the supernatural stuff in Eclipse? Actually, the film does seem to dabble more with matters of the heart and promises a war that never explodes in full fury. The army of the vicious newborn vampires are on their way to assist evil Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) avenge the death of her lover, James. They do come and indulge in a pow-wow with the werewolves and vampires, but, by and large, the battle lacks brimstone.

But don't sweat. There's enough to keep the minutes rolling. As for the action buffs, isn't there Breaking Dawn and the final blitzkrieg? So hang on Twihards, the climax has yet to come.

Salt

Critic's Rating: 3.5
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Shreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Direction: Phillip Noyce
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes


Movie Review: It's Angelina Jolie's race against time to prove she's truly Hollywood's Lara Croft (read alpha woman). So forget the script and sit back for an explosion of in-your-face action cuts where our stunt queen is hell bent on showcasing herself as truly `hero' material -- The One, amongst the guys -- sexy pout and svelte figure, notwithstanding.

The film opens with Ms Jolie being tortured in a North Korean prison from where she is rescued and then breaks into a relentless spree that has a twofold purpose. First, it is supposed to answer the million dollar query: Who is Salt -- Russian mole or patriotic CIA agent? And second, it is intentioned to save America -- and the world -- from armageddon that threatens to come in the shape of a nuclear holocaust, after the American President is forced to press the button by big bad Russia.

The film does keep you guessing and has its moments of mystery as Angelina's identity keeps slipping from Russian to American, as she hobnobs with the KGB and the CIA with equal ease. And in this game of high level subterfuge, she doesn't actually have any friends, even though her colleague Ted Winters (Liev Shreiber) does seem to trust her as much as the other co-agent (Chiwetel Ejiofor) doubts her credentials. But Ms Jolie really doesn't have time for friendship, trust and all such niceties in a world that's spinning towards disaster. She needs to make rocket launchers out of furniture; jump off bridge, onto high speeding trucks, leap down elevator shafts, wear latex on her face, inject tarantula juice into heads of states and break into the high security white House, dodging all the bullets and bombs that are aimed at her fragile form.

Fragile, did anyone say? Eat your words, people and open you eyes for agent Salt: the feminist answer to James Bond and Jason Bourne. She successfully completes her first adventure with a promise of a sequel. And a sequel....

The Last Airbender

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone
Direction: M Night Shyamalan
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes


Movie Review: First things first. If you're on the lookout for something as dramatically, philosophically or strategically driven as Shyamalan's The Village, Signs or Unbreakable, The Last Airbender is not the one for you. Not to say there's nothing in there for you. Martial arts, to the bending of the elements, costume design to the sets, the actual filming locations, this movie is a visual treat, served in 3D style.

But, it's mostly meant for tweens, based as it is on a popular Nickleodeon show which Shyamalan used to regularly watch with his seven-year-old son. The heroes are believable... out there to do things achievable... as they confront villains easy-to-handle. All this and more, with a storyline not quite complicated.

It's been a century, Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtiz) continues to imprison anyone born with the power to bend elements of nature, when siblings Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) from the Water Nation find a mysterious boy trapped beneath the ice. Is that the Avatar? Yes, though this Avatar a.k.a Aang (Noah Ringer) is yet to master all elements of nature. Why? Because he ran away during his `enlightenment days' when he was told an `Avatar could have no family; an Avatar needs to make sacrifices to rise up the ladder'. But hey, no worry, for Katara and Sokka help him master the `emotional art' of water bending. And that's where we get our visual tamasha from. Don't miss out the water-benders do kata on boats surrounded by glaciers, the blending of the martial arts, the bending of all other elements. But as they inch nearer to their goal, the group must evade Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) too, the banished son of Lord Ozai who is `too soft and not fit to wear the Fire military uniform'. Does our `soft warrior' eventually turn into a hard, Avatar-trapper? Or does the movie leave scope for a possible sequel to follow soon? Find out.

So, where exactly does the bending go wrong? First, we really needed to see Aang develop significantly on his journey to become the Avatar. Except for the climactic scene at the water-bender city, the bending seems too unconvincing despite its 3D transformation. Second, in terms of the special effects, we wish we had more of those element-bending techniques working for real. Imagine one getting wet each time a globe of water splashed on them. Imagine one getting burnt each time a ball of fire blasted around them. Ah, for all those delicious tweeny fantasies!

Of course, to make up for that, Shyamalan gives us enough benders for the mind. Analyse this: There are reasons we are all born; we need to find them. There are certain things the human kind should not tamper with -- Nature and its spirit is one of them... The Fire Nation is misusing knowledge to create something that'll turn the moon red... In our hearts, all nations (here Air, Water, Earth, Fire) are one... Lesson-lender, anyone?

Airbender may not be vintage Shyamalan, but it sure is fun viewing for young adult fiction buffs.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci
Direction: Jon Turtleltaub
Genre: Sci-fci
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes


Movie Review: This one's a simple summer flick that keeps the popcorn crisp. Of course, the story isn't original and does fill you with a sense of deja vu, even as Nicholas Cage makes you wonder what exactly is his career plan. But then, there's Alfred Molina on the other side who seems to be having so much fun playing the mean wizard, he fills your heart with devilish glee. Watching Molina's antics as he tries to unleash his fury and dabble with gargoyles that change into dragons and mirrors that capture him in crowded NY washrooms sure is uproarious fun. Add to this the geeky Jay Baruchel with his laid-back charms and his sleepy super-hero act, and you have enough to keep the minutes ticking.

Inception

Critic's Rating: 4.0
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cottilard, Ken Watanbe
Direction: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Sci-fci
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes


Movie Review: Christopher Nolan might just end up as the most alluring and enigmatic film maker of contemporary cinema. Memento, The Prestige, Dark Knight and now Inception: Nolan's oeuvre is definitely one of the most creative outpourings in commerce and cliche-ridden Hollywood. If you thought Memento teased your mind, try savouring Inception. It will leave you tortured, tormented, ticklish and tantalised with its mindplay. And if you think you can actually unravel this mind-boggler in one go, you're asking for the moon. It will leave you longing for one more dekko to get the picture straight....Too many levels of reality, too many things happening and too innovative an idea!

Refreshingly, Leonardo DiCaprio has only recently proved his skills at skating in and out of the inner recesses of the mind with unbridled felicity in Shutter Island. Once again, he walks into people's heads while they are asleep and walks out with their ideas, leaving them still asleep. But not satisfied with a mere extraction of ideas, he tries to push the limits of science still further. How about planting ideas, he asks himself and ends up burning up his own domestic idyll by using his beautiful wife (Marion Cottilard) as the gullible guinea pig. The experiment backfires and ends up as a tragedy that not only makes him a fugitive, it also tampers with his mind and creates a parallel reality that refuses to let go. So that, when the young Ellen Page joins him on his latest mission, she realises how dangerous it is going to be sharing the dreams of this troubled hero who must fight his own demons before he can play with other people's minds.

Inception is not only one of the most original films in recent months, it is absolutely riveting stuff. Like The Matrix, most of the action takes place in the realm of dreams, but they seem completely life-like: the chases, the crashes, the explosions, the extractions, the interrogations, the heartbreak, the longing, the despair. Leonardo is in stellar form, scoring another high after Shutter Island. A special word for cinematographer Wally Pfister who juxtaposes the real and the surreal with such finesse, you never do get confused and always remain aware of the slippery ground you are treading on. Go, get intrigued and push the boundaries of your mind.

Knight and Day

Critic's Rating: 3.5
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz
Direction: James Mangold
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes


Movie Review: Can you actually fall in love while being trapped in an exploding car, a crashing plane, a vicious gun battle, a beastly bull run or a death defying car chase? You can, if you play your roles perfectly. Like Tom Cruise, who steps into the super shoes of the archetypal knight in shining armour and Cameron Diaz who dances around in a billowy dress and high boots like the typical damsel in distress. And together, the Cruise-Cameron chemistry creates the perfect Me-Tarzan, You-Jane typical portrait that has thrilled mankind since Adam fig-leafed Eve.


The actor duo return after a long gap since their pairing in Vanilla Sky and this time they actually do set the screen ablaze in a goofball comic adventure that multi-tasks magnificently. It makes you laugh, clap and howl with glee with its corny situations and sheer absurdity even as it sets the adrenalin on OD (overdose) with its believe-it-or-not action cuts. Unconvinced? So how's this? Cruise kills an entire planeload of rogues without losing a hair, while Cameron powders her nose and prepares for some X-rated fun with enigmatic co-passenger! And mind you, there are zillions of such zany situations in this romantic adventure where all that Cruise must do is save a magical, minuscule, mighty powerful battery and its inventor from a bunch of global crooks and a misguided agency. As for Cameron, all that the script demands from her is to be herself: ditzy, balsy, sexy and sunshiny. Of course, Ms Diaz ain't no mean star herself. So, she does get to play the knight too in a classic reversal of roles, which has you grinning from ear to ear.

The duo are electric. The repartee is rollicking. The action is completely over the top. And the film is such a chaloo cheeseburst, you just can't miss it.

Go, sink your teeth in it.

Spread

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Leveiva
Direction: David Mackenzie
Genre: Drama
Duration: 1 hour 37 minutes


Movie Review: There is a sweet irony in this story that transports Spread from where it dangerously dangles: C-grade Hollywood to watchable drama. And strangely, most of the drama comes from the parting shot, where a giant toad tries to gobble a white mouse and takes his time swallowing it. Metaphor, anyone? Is that the big bad dream city (Los Angeles) guzzling the millions of dream chasers who flock towards its dazzling lights?

Kutcher sufficiently slips into the shoes of a pretty boy who is willing to do pretty much for the kingsize lifestyle. Slipping out of one convenient relationship after the other, he manages to find a degree of permanence with the super-rich Samantha, who indulges him, but only until he delivers....At the first sign of neglect, she cracks up and cracks him up too, leaving him no option but to end up homeless -- and benefactor-less-- again. That is, if he wants his self-respect to remain intact. But more than self-respect, there's something else that has Nikki obsessing: his love for the mysterious and elusive waitress, Heather, who ends up in different cars each night. sometimes, it's a Mercedes and sometimes, it's a Porche, with half-lit cigars spilling out of the ash trays. Doesn't take long for Nikki to figure out another gold-digger like him....The toy boy and the hooker do try to work out deals together, but the business partnership doesn't last for long. Why? Because romance sets in. It's bitter sweet romance, that can't stand a chance before bitter and harsh reality.

Watch it for Ashton Kutcher and his pretty boy charms. And also for his existential dilemma: to be a gigolo or a grocery boy

The Storm Warriors 2

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Kenny Ho, Charlene Choi
Direction: Okide Pang Chun, Danny Pang
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes


Movie Review: It's essentially a one-liner plot that anchors all the clash-bang baazooka. Comic book warriors Cloud (Aaron Kwok) and Wind (Ekin Cheng) must save China from the ungodly Mr Godless. And the only way they can do it is by undergoing extreme martial arts training which includes some psychological and ethical tampering too. If they really want to win this war against evil, then Wind must turn sufficiently evil too, according to their tutor, aptly called Nameless (Kenny Ho). But there's a catch. If Wind turns completely evil, there shall be havoc and no one shall have the power to control his murderous spree. So, how does Wind measure the modicum of vile he must inject into his psyche if he wants his sword to slash the right heads only? Can the beautiful Second Dream (Charlene Choi) bring him back from the brink; or is it left to his old comrade Cloud to tame his sword and turn his eyes back from mean yellow to gentle brown...

Don't mind the dubbing: it's terrible. Go for the fizz and the lightning of a full blown martial arts comic book venture instead.

The Losers

Critic's Rating: 4.0
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Jason Patric
Direction: Sylvain White
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 37 minutes


Movie Review: Ready for another comic book to come alive on screen? you better be, because this time, the comic book literally explodes in your face in its on-screen avatar.

The Losers, with its bratpack of five fighters and its wham-bang action, is so completely over the top, it tantalises you. Add to this, the crunchy (read crazy) one-liners and the sweltering `high-testosterone' show by Zoe `Avatar' Saldana, and you have Hollywood transforming cheese into chic with The Losers.

This high-decibel film opens with an explosive sequence that sees a bunch of kids being meticulously saved by our bunch of heroes from the jungles of Bolivia and then ironically blown off in the SOS helicopter that was supposed to ferry them to safety. After that too, the boom-boom and the slow motion wild-pack-walk is relentless, with zany action set-pieces literally rolling off the conveyor belt in quick succession as the hunted CIA men try to settle scores and set the record straight. Personal favourite: the supposed tele-kinetic shoot-out!! Debonair bad man Max (Jason Patric) is hellish fun too with his trigger happy ways and his witty one-liners. But the mirchi factor is truly Aisha, the badass chick who grew up in the African wilds and had a childhood hobby of collecting human ears. Now howzzat for our feisty miss who confesses she hasn't been called a `girl' for long.

Great fun. Gun for it.

The A-Team

Critic's Rating: 3.5
Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel
Direction: Joe Carnahan
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 57 minutes


Movie Review: A-Team is an unbridled adrenalin rush all the way. You don't get the time to sit back and think of story and all that stuff in the thud and the rumble of the action set pieces that explode in your face.

Leading the lean-mean team is Liam Neeson who is determined to prove his innocence, after being convicted of stealing some engraving plates, which have caused a flush of counterfeit US dollars to flood the battle-scarred country. Like the quintessential leader of the wolf pack, Neeson harnesses the forces of the foursome, which essentially means the following: giant Jackson must crash through gun battles at crucial junctures on vrooming Harleys, Sharlto Copley must fly planes at breakneck speed, causing acute air sickness to anyone who can dare to keep his eyes open and playboy Cooper must dazzle with his with, charm and sharp shooting abilities, when he's not taking his shirt off, flinging tanks down the sky, or flirting with his ex, the delightful alpha girl, Jessica Biel.

Based on the popular TV series of the 1980s, The A-Team is strictly for action buffs who love to OD on high-decibel AXN cuts. The action is superbly crafted, leaving no room for anything else. Of course, the foursome do add a lot of charm and charisma to the lead characters, specially Cooper who gets more and more irresistible after Hangover.

Toy Story 3

Critic's Rating: 4.0
Cast: Voice of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cussack, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton
Direction: Lee Unkrich
Genre: Animation
Duration: 1 hour 42 minutes


Movie Review: Absolutely awesome! If Toy Story 1 conjured up a whole new world for kids and set up a new benchmark in animation, then Toy Story 3 is a befitting sequel to the franchise. There is colour, verve, drama, action, comedy, romance and 3D too. Add to this, a few wonderful take-home morals for our young and old viewers, and what more can you want. Yes, Toy Story 3 is that perfect paisa-vasool family entertainer packaged in characteristic Hollywood pizzazz.


Thematically, the third part smartly carries forward the wondrous experiences of Woody (Tom Hanks) and his friends as they try to come to terms with the darker side of life after years of hugging and petting. The toys must learn to cope with the fear of rejection and the insecurity of being unwanted. After the warmth of Andy's room, they find themselves struggling for survival in their inconducive new environs, where on the one hand roguish kids are ready to tear them apart; and on the other, the self appointed, mean dictator of the day care centre is hell bent on making slaves out of them. So you have Woody, leading an action packed revolt against the tyrant bear (Ned Beatty) and his evil cohorts like Ken (Michael Keaton), Big Baby and Monkey. But before he can set his buddies free and flee to safety, he must undo what the bearish Lot-sa has done to his best friend Buzz (Tim Allen). The friendly Space Ranger has suddenly crossed sides and is working against the welfare of his former friends. But hey what's that? A re-boot has Buzz donning the role of Don Juan and giving us some of the most zany moments of the film. Go have your fill...

Mantra-wise too, you will find loads to inspire your kids at the end of all the action and drama. Woody and co. are definitely not pieces of plastic with their pep pills on the value of team spirit, friendship, loyalty and the importance of standing up to bullys, aggressors and exploiters. And that's not all, adults too can take home their favourite one liner: authority comes from the consensus of the governed, not from fear! That's cowgirl Jessie's feisty rebuke to fascistic Lot-sa and the lot-sa real life leaders like him. Enjoy!

Edge of Darkness

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
Direction: Martin Campbell
Genre: Crime
Duration: 1 hour 57 minutes


Movie Review: Mel Gibson returns after a hiatus in this black, edgy thriller and brings back memory of his glorious performances. He still retains the gaunt, haunted look of the Mad Max series, despite the growing furrows on his face.

This time, he combines the agility of an aging detective with the pain of a father who must cope with his grief, even as he tries to remain objective while resolving a complicated case that involves corruption in high places. In question is a dubious nuclear facility, which ostensibly conducts harmless research to ensure the nuclear stockpile is always ready for the Prez to put into use. But behind the veneer, there is some sordid R&D activity going on. Gibson's daughter, who worked there, wanted to turn whistleblower and ended up dead. But Braveheart Gibson doesn't easily forget.

A gritty thriller that keeps you on the brink most of the time, Edge of Darkness makes for interesting viewing.

Robin Hood

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Max von Sydow
Direction: Ridley Scott
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes


Movie Review: This is one more collaboration between the ace duo of director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe. Yet, sadly, it ain't no Gladiator, neither in terms of histrionics nor on the scale of an epic. Blame it solely on the story. Scott has chosen on a period of time before the legend of Robin (of the) Hood was actually born. Naturally, this is a more conventional Robin who doesn't break the rules, doesn't infringe the laws and is quite unlike the flamboyant outlaw that we have got used to seeing as the quintessential Robin Hood character. Even his arch enemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham, hasn't evolved as a full blown foe and remains in the shadow as the bad guy's mantle is donned by a new character: Godfrey, the French spy, who has no qualms of conscience bartering away the prestige of the throne of England to the scheming French. All that the Sheriff gets to do is force a kiss on the feisty Marion, as she ploughs her fields and fobs him off. Alan Rickman, (the unforgettable Sheriff in the Kevin Costner version) where art thou!


So, the point we are trying to emphasise here is the fact that the action is missing in this version of Robin Hood, which ends with the suffix: The legend begins...or something like that. Unlike the brigand who leads his merry men through one high-testosterone archery encounter after the other in the earlier versions, this Robin is a more genteel hero who bathes, dines and breakfasts the bourgeois way. No rough and tumble and real fighting for him. Even his romance with Lady Marion is fleeting and sedate and cries out for Bryan Adam's brusque ode to love: remember `Everything I Do...'

But comparisons are indeed odious. So, no complaints. And that's because Russell Crowe actually lends gravitas to the mythical character and gives him a Gladiatorial avatar, even as Cate Blanchett creates an alpha woman out of the uber feminine prototype of Maid Marion, who usually can't do without the protection of Robin Hood's brawny shoulders. But not our lady, who knows how to defend herself, well and proper.

Go watch this version, because the sequel is bound to follow. And then, we are sure, all hell will break lose....Savour the lull before the storm.

The Karate Kid

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P Henson, Wenwen Han
Direction: Harold Zwart
Genre: Action
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes


Movie Review: The film is a re-boot of the 1980's classic which had become a cult film for the '80s teens. It essentially tries to posit Jaden Smith as a chip off the old block (Will Smith) and showcase the talents of the young boy who had already won hearts in his touching performance as Will Smith's son in The Pursuit of Happyness.


Does Jaden deliver? Indeed, he does, with his dread locks and loads of attitude which makes Dre Parker one of the smartest imports from America in this bustling Beijing neighbourhood. Not only does he manage to catch the attention of all the bullies in school, he also manages to charm his way into pretty Ms Mei Ying's life, that usually revolves around the high arts, leaving little room for tween fun and games. And if that's not enough attention already, our young hero also succeeds in convincing the unfriendly handyman, Mr Han (Jackie Chan) to create a karate champion out of him: one who can not only learn to conquer all his weaknesses but can also out-chop all the bullies in a martial arts marathon match. All this, with just a few hiccups and a whole lot of tutor-taught bonding between Jackie and Jaden.

The film does have a lot to offer to young adults, but fails to rise to cult status. And that's only because the martial arts display (the stuff our boisterous teens holler for) is somewhat marginalised by the drama and relationship building which takes up a lot of screen time. The semi romance between Mei Ying and Dre and the prolonged training sequences involving Mr Han and Dre do seem to test the patience of our adrenalin-driven young viewers. Give us the Chopsucky, and give it fast: you can almost hear them screaming!

Jackie Chan sheds his comic sheen for a more serious visage; Jaden is fluid motion and poetry and the locales (the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China) are stunning. Celebrate the dragon....

Sex and the City 2

Critic's Rating: 3.0
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Direction: Michael Patrick Young
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes


Movie Review: The go-getter girls are truly at the crossroads, bogged down by different aspects of the mid-life crisis: motherhood, wifehood, menopause, the glass ceiling....Leading the brattish pack is Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) who doesn't know how to retain the `sparkle' in her two-year-old marriage to her avuncular husband who suddenly seems to have a craving for a third entity in their cosy domesticity. He wants a TV in the bedroom, much to the discomfiture of Carrie who can't see herself watching black and white Hollywood films, night after night, even though her husband thinks it's romantic. It Happened One Night is fine because it happens only one night, she yells, after a cosy viewing of the classic film. But day after day....Surely, it's time for a time-out before the magic disappears completely.


The other girls have their own set of woes. Like Charlotte's yelling kids and her sexy nanny who chooses to do cartwheels minus her lingerie; Miranda's misogynist boss who hates her voice -- and her talent; and Samantha's disappearing oestrogen that needs artificial stimulants to keep her hot and happening, despite being `fifty plus f***@$g two.' They get a chance to escape from it all when Samantha receives an invitation to holiday in Abu Dhabi from one of her clients.

And herein comes the problem. Once the girls arrive in Abu Dhabi, the film enters rough terrain. On the one hand it becomes more or less a touristy adventure where the foursome decide to `DO' the rich and prosperous Abu Dhabi after having undergone a long recession. And secondly, they decide to do it like stereotypical American tourists who view the exotic east as the quintessential backwaters. So, you have a series of insensitive and childish digs at the hijab, naqab, burqa, burkini and the antiquated laws of a land which can get you arrested for something as simple as kissing. OMG! gushes Carrie, as she sits back awe-struck to watch a native woman eat french fries through her hijab. And what's that, wonders a startled Samantha, when she hears the familiar call for prayer. And finally, the sisterhood seeks refuge from a group of belligerent sheikhs by hiding with a bunch of women who flaunt Louis Vitton and Prada beneath their burqas. Ah Amrika! When will you actually grow up and say Hello to an egalitarian world.

But, if you can ignore this insensitivity and infantile vision -- which actually isn't something new from commonplace Hollywood -- the girls have enough to keep the momentum going. Silly one liners, goofy situational slip-ups and some genuinely funny gags, specially by Samantha (Kim Cattrall) do keep the tedium at bay. Not forgetting the Indian reference: the sundry `Haanjis' and the Indian character who once again, is truly third world: a butler who meets his wife back home in India, only when he has the money for an air ticket. For the rest of the while, he lingers in permanent servitude, serving sherbets and milk to his Amrikan memsaabs. Tch tch!

The sequel may not be as spunky as the first film, yet, Sex and the City 2 has enough to keep the cosmo club grinning. Watch out for Sarah Jessica Parker's fashion folio and Kim Cattrall's wild abandon.

Shutter Island

Film: Shutter Island
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo
Genre: Drama
Direction: Martin Scorsese
Duration: 2 hours 18 minutes
Critic's Rating: 3.5 stars


Story: It's 1954. Everything's not right at the Ashecliffe Asylum that houses the criminally insane on the isolated Shutter Island. US Marshal Ted Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives from Boston after a boat ride on the choppy waters to investigate the mysterious disappearance of one of the inmates from the asylum. But can he hope to uncover the web of intrigue and actually unravel the mysterious going-ons here, specially when he is confronted by a team of hostile doctors, headed by Ben Kingsley and he himself is haunted by disturbing vignettes from his violent past....

Movie Review: Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese make a great team. After having swept you off your feet with their masterpiece, The Departed, the duo return with a celluloid rendition of Dennis Lehane's novel which traces the degree of violence that is innate in the human species. Setting his drama in an extreme situation, a state-run-institution for criminals who are essentially ruthless killers, Scorsese poses a teaser: Is the asylum more dangerous than the outside world, where the H-bomb hangs dangerously over a civilisation that has still not forgotten the Nazi atrocities. The US Marshal (Leonardo) is haunted by primarily two memories, as he goes about his investigations. The first being his war record where he waded through heaps of bodies before shooting down a battery of German guards in cold blood and the second vision involves the murder of his three young kids, followed by the violent death of his wife.

The Marshal has a tough task ahead. On the one hand, he must fight his own personal demons and on the other he must wade through the web of subterfuge and find out if the doctors, headed by Kingsley, are actually using this asylum as a laboratory for kinky stuff: human engineering and all that. The sudden disappearance of his assistant (Mark Ruffalo) further adds to the confusion, as does his deteriorating physical condition.

This one's a gritty drama, with Scorsese creating some marvellous set pieces where the past intervenes with the present and Leonardo creates a compelling picture of brooding disarray. The film however does get bogged down a bit by its gloomy overtones and its meandering flashbacks which tend to distract. But the sledgehammer climax more than makes up for these minor flaws.

Nightmare on ELM Street

Film: Nightmare on ELM Street
Cast: Quentin Smith, Nancy Holbrook, Jackie Earle Haley
Genre: Horror
Direction: Samuel Bayer
Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes
Critic's Rating: 3 stars

Story: A group of highschoolers in Springwood are having nightmares about a clawed killer stalking them in their dreams. What's more strange is that their injuries turn out to be real and they end up facing a bloody death while asleep. All this, while their friends, Nancy and Quentin watch helplessly. Can the traumatised teens actually put a stop to the killer's nasty plans?

Movie Review: Freddy Kreuger's back. After a startling debut in 1984, Hollywood's favourite teen slasher, returns after umpteen sequels which have seen him going about his favourite bloodsport -- tearing apart teens -- with varying states of glee. And during these 26 years, the teen guzzler has reportedly consumed 137 vulnerable young things already, all of them living at the high profile houses in Elm street. Some appetite, huh!

Well, now that he's back after a prolonged hiatus, one would have thought he would have kept pace with the changing millennium and all that. But nah! Freddie's still sporting vintage violence, as he goes around town, swishing his blade-like fingers and disembowelling pretty young things in their bed, baths and backyards. And as he chases them to their final encounter, he growls and grunts sweet nothings which are barely audible over the screams. If that's not reason enough to give you the chills, there's Kreuger's crumbling-cookie face to make your insides churn.

So, Freddie Kreuger ko gussa kyon aata hai? Is he actually a simple school gardener who was falsely accused of a crime he never committed and charred to death by a gang of vicious parents? Or is he the quintessential bad guy who can't have enough of crime and violence, not even after his death. Now that's left for two scared young things -- Rooney (Nancy Holbrooke) and Kyle (Quentin Smith) -- to discover, as they desperately try to evade sleep and death, in that order. But hey, there's little our Freddie hunters can do, when the killer has the ability to jump out from nowhere, even if it happens to be the bath tub, the wall paper, the mirror....Watch out for the climax. Sure to make you jump.

The new version of the classic horror film may not be a revisionist tale and have anything new to offer. Nevertheless, it does have some old fashioned scares that still work and a vintage villain (Jackie Earle Haley) whose sword-scissor hands and snarling visage is both fun and fearful.

Beat the blazing summer heat with some creepy chills. Bring on the Nightmare.

Daybreakers

Film: Daybreakers
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan
Genre: Sci-Fi
Direction: Michael and Peter Spiereg
Duration: 1 hour 38 minutes
Critic's Rating: 3 stars


Story: It's 2019. A global epidemic has reduced humans to an endangered species and the world seems to be brimming over with vampires who are hunting them down for their precious blood. Who will win the war for plasma? Seems the vampires will, unless Ethan Hawke, a haematologist, finds a solution to the global crisis. He does, by developing a substitute for blood, but not before a bloody battle for survival.

Movie Review: Vampires again. Only this time, it ain't the handsome teen mutant Twilighters (Robert Pattinson and co.) who are quite welcome with their blood-lusting fangs. Here, the vampires are a bunch of nasty snarlers who brutally pounce on the handful of humans left in this grim-dim scenario and then indulge in some lip-smacking, blood-dripping drama, even as the endangered human race cries out for a saviour.

So, who's the messiah going to be this time round? Dr Ed Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is the man of the moment. Doesn't matter if he himself is a vampire, because he is a vegetarian blood-sucker, feasting only on animal blood. He develops synthetic blood which has magical powers. It allows humans to survive and vampires who feed on them, to perish. But the benevolent doctor cannot re-build the human race without the help of the crossbow-wielding Elvis (Willem Dafoe) who has his own gory vampire history.

This one's for those who still haven't had their fill of vampire lore which happens to be the current craze in Hollywood and those who like their vampires mostly mean and monster-like.

Prince of Persia: The sands of Time

Film: Prince of Persia: The sands of Time
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Genre: Adventure
Direction: Mike Newell
Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes
Critic's Rating: 3.5 stars


Story: Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a ragamuffin picked up from the streets by the Persian King Sharaman for his bravery and daring. He grows up as his son, along with his two foster brothers, Seso and Garsiv and life is a veritable bed of roses until he is sent by his Uncle (Ben Kingley) to plunder the beautiful city of Alamat, ruled by the feisty Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton). This is the beginning of a nefarious plot of treachery and intrigue where the conflict centres around a mystical dagger that has the power of unleashing time travel and world destruction. Who is desperate for the dagger? And who can save the world?

Movie Review: Here comes another end-of-the-world adventure, wrapped up in quintessential Hollywood style, which essentially translates into a larger-than-life desert safari where swords clash, sandstorms rise, intrigue simmers, magic brews and passion soars....Yup! Prince of Persia is a great getaway from the summer ennui and offers you a popcorn crunching two hours of fun and games.

And why not? For, the film is actually based on a video game that hit the market in 2003 and asks you not to tax your brains at all. All it demands is to sit back and serenade the over-the-top adventure which unfolds in ancient Persia where palace intrigue, shaman mystique and royal romance seemed to be the only thing that mattered. Add to this, a band of gypsy-like mercenaries, led by Alfred Molina and you have all the masala to keep the mercury rising this summer.
The high point of the film is its stellar ensemble cast headed by Ben Kingsley who lends gravitas to the entire proceedings as Nizam, the King's brother who may have lived all his life in the shadows but remains a dominant figure, nonetheless. Jake Gyllenhaal's Prince of Persia is quite an unusual act too, for the actor has never been as playful and acrobatic before. As for Gemma Arterton's Tamina? Now she's a delicious tease, an oriental bombshell who truly oversteps her Bond girl brief and grows from mere eye candy to a woman of substance. Tamina is the keeper of the magical dagger and is determined to stay in-step with the warrior prince, fighting to save the world as an equal partner, albeit with a yummy pout....Of course, you cannot ignore Alfred Molina as the scruffy Arab ostrich runner with the ragtag band of fighters and marksmen.

The review wouldn't be complete without a special mention for the arresting canvas of the film, created by some stupendous camera work by John Seale and the Armageddon's-here special effects by Trevor Woods. Total mazaa!

Brick Lane

Film: Brick Lane
Cast: Satish Kaushik, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Christopher Simpson
Genre: Drama
Direction: Susan Gavron
Duration: 1 hour 41 minutes
Critic's Rating: 4 stars


Story: Young Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is sent off as a 17-year-old bride from her village in Bangladesh to Brick Lane in East London, after her wedding to the much elder, Chanu (Satish Kaushik). She settles down uncomplainingly to a dull and monotonous life of quiet domesticity with her likeable, yet boring husband and two daughters, until love and passion walk into her life against an incendiary post 9/11 backdrop.

Movie Review: Isn't this the biggest irony of the Indian film distribution system that a film with Indian artists, which has won over sundry fans -- and garnered rave reviews -- the world over, finds a low key release in India, almost after three years? And that too, only in a single city (Mumbai), despite the fact that the film deals with a purely sub-continental issue (the migrant experience) and showcases some towering histrionics by desi talent. Both Satish Kaushik and Tannishtha Chatterjee literally set the screen ablaze with their gentle, restrained and unforgettable portrayals of a mismatched Bangladeshi couple that gradually learn the meaning of love and togetherness, against a backdrop of personal and social turmoil.

Based on the riveting book by Monica Ali, the film is a fine celluloid adaptation: extremely picturesque, pithy, introspective and not at all verbose. Nazneen's journey begins as a young girl from the backwaters of Bangladesh as her carefree childhood games are suddenly interrupted with her mother's suicide. And then comes the seminal dialogue where the young Nazneen says: Nobody questioned mother's death because if we were allowed to ask questions, God would have made us boys. Hence, the virtue of silence and unquestioning acceptance, as Nazneen passes from girlhood to wifehood and motherhood, without ever experiencing the highs and lows of life. Of course, she has husband Chanu by her side: the good and kind Chanu who quotes Chaucer and Hume and dreams of fitting in as the perfect Brit. But is Chanu her dream man....Indeed, a difficult decision to make, specially when the young firebrand Karim (Christopher Simpson) walks into her lonely afternoons with his quest for the unspoit village girl.

Watch the film for the grandeur that both Satish Kaushik and Tannishtha Chatterjee invest in their role of the low key couple who try to cope with a changing world order. Satish Kaushik completely reinvents himself as an actor as Chanu, the quintessential nice guy, the eternal optimist and the unflinching liberal. And watch it for its humanist-feminist-non-fundamentalist message.