Category: English

Is it worth your time and money??: While it’s not a brilliant war film, Fury is a decent entertainer. Plus points are exceptional acting, especially by Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman, and spectacular cinematography. On the downside, the movie is too long and the screenplay could have been better. Give it a shot if you have nothing else to do!

Worth mention: Great visuals.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 7.5/10

David Fincher has been known to make different kinda movies. Ben Affleck is an actor you can’t get enough of. Them working on an adaptation of a best-selling novel results in one the weirdest movies I’ve ever watched.

The movie starts off as a mystery; a man is in search of his wife who disappeared from their house. It soon turns into a drama about marital issues. Then it turns into a thriller where you’re expecting something unexpected to happen the very next moment. And then, it end so weirdly that you’re left in awe, with mouth wide open, literally. I haven’t read Gillian Flynn’s novel, but boy, that was one hell of a story. David Fincher does a great job of putting it on-screen with just about perfect direction. Add to that some excellent screenplay by Flynn, and the movie is perfect to watch.

Ben Affleck is great as the carefree husband. He has put on a lot of weight for the role and it felt as if the character was written for him; he was that good. Rosamund Pike is absolutely brilliant as his wife, and is actually better than Affleck. Neil Patrick Harris appears briefly as an obsessed boyfriend and is good. Carrie Coon is decent while Kim Dickens comes up with a good act.

Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is haunting yet very subtle. Editing by Kirk Baxter is perfect, and cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth is good. Again, no qualms on technical front.

Is it worth your time and money??: Gone Girl is a weird good film. The problem here isn’t with the acting, direction or screenplay, it’s with the ending for you either like it or you don’t. Of the 150 odd minutes, you’re at the edge of your seat for almost 125. What happens in the next 15-20 minutes is a gamble you ought to take. It all depends on how you handle it. 😀

Worth mention: The weird ending!

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 8.5/10

In my opinion, Rise of the Planet of the Apes wasn’t a great film. While I enjoyed a couple of episodes, I was left wanting for more. The more is delivered by the sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but…

A little into the near future, when civilization has almost gone extinct because of a virus, Caesar, our beloved ape, leads a new generation of intelligent apes. They soon realize that a bunch of humans with tons of artillery exist in nearby lands and need to access the forests to fix their power source. While most apes do not trust humans, Caesar does, and allows humans into their lands. The rest of the story is about whether his trust is reciprocated. Scripted by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the movie has better storyline than its predecessor. There is much substance and better emotions. While direction by Matt Reeves is almost perfect, my only problem was with the pace of the film. Understood that the director was trying to convey emotions and make a point, but I was kinda perturbed with its snail pace. There were times it felt more like drama than an action film. I also quite didn’t understand the human storyline much.

On acting front, Andy Serkis is absolutely brilliant as Caesar. Though it is performance capture, you can actually see his face on-screen. He actually outruns his own performance as Gollum in the LOTR series with this one. Toby Kebbell also comes up with an excellent act as Koba. Jason Clarke is decent as Malcolm, while Gary Oldman is pretty good in his brief appearance.

Music and background score by Michael Giacchino is way better than the predecessor film. Cinematography by Michael Seresin is a definite asset. Editing by William Hoy is decent. While the 3D effects aren’t worth a mention, the visual effects were very good.

Is it worth your time and money??: But for its snail pace, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ain’t a bad film. If that doesn’t bother you much, give it a watch for Andy Serkis and the visual effects.

Worth mention: The climax fight. It was quite spectacular.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6.5/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 7.5/10

Sometimes you’d never want a movie to end for it’s so good. And then there are times you’d pray for it to get over just to escape from the madness. The latest Transformers film happens to fall in the latter category!

Directed by Michael Bay, this is a complicated as hell storyline. Writer Ehren Kruger should really be commended for writing such an intricate script; boy does he have some imagination. Our beloved Autobots are now being hunted by CIA agents for reasons unknown even by the President of United States. When Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a wannabe inventor discovers the leader of clan, Optimus Prime, the hunt is on not just for the Autobots, but also Yeager’s family. So what’s the reason you ask? Because one CIA agent is paranoid about the Transformers, and would go to any extent to get rid of them. To what extent?  Help build his own Transformers using Megatron’s mind (Decepticon) to get rid of the originals (Autobots), with the help of a new set of alien Transformers (intergalactic mercenaries). Uff! If the story isn’t bad enough, add an overdose of fights/visual effects/sound effects that you, nevermind. The screenplay is a mess, and so is the direction. I wonder what Bay was thinking!

Thankfully, the humans don’t disappoint much (comparatively). Mark Wahlberg comes up with a decent performance, and so does Stanley Tucci. That’s it. The rest of the cast is absolutely mediocre. Nicola Peltz is as good as a sexy plastic doll and Jack Reynor is a stone with barely any facial expressions. Kelsey Grammer is terrible as the paranoid CIA agent. In a scene, he reasons his doings for the safety of United States (aka the money) without a single emotion; I just wonder how someone can act so good :O .

Music by might have been decent; I’m sorry, I was so lost because of the madness on-screen that I barely paid any attention to the background score. Cinematography by Amir Mokri is nothing special either, and neither are the 3D effects. I wish Paul Rubell, Roger Barton and William Goldenberg (editing) could have done wonders by cutting everything out. More than 150 minutes long, the movie actually gave me a headache.

Is it worth your time and money??: I’d say no. But if you’re a die-hard Transformers fan, and/or can sit through hours watching them battle it out while destroying human life and cities like nobody’s business, then good luck! 

Worth mention: As much as I’d like to say end title credits, there were a couple of episodes involving Tucci which were actually hilarious.

Acting: 5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 5.5/10

A movie based on food; I couldn’t miss it, could I??

Written and directed by Jon Favreau, Chef is a simple film based on a persons love for food. Carl Casper, the chef of a high-end fine dine in Vegas gets into a brawl with a food critic, and the rest of the story is all about how his love for food and cooking takes him places. Jon was able to showcase Carl’s longing to cook delicious food is a very effective manner. He uses the phrase “the way to anyone’s heart is through his stomach” to maximum, actually resulting in the viewers craving for yummy food all through the movie. Though the direction is good, I thought the screenplay could have been a little better.

Jon as an actor is perfect and does a commendable job. His body language is just perfect. Emjay Anthony is brilliant as Casper’s son, and John Leguizamo also comes up with an exceptional performance. The rest of the cast is alright. But the real star of the movie is its food. Be it the yummy Aglio Olio, the Cheese Sandwich oozing with butter, or even the Cuban Sandwich and the red meats (imagine me saying this being a vegetarian), every dish left me craving.

On technical front, music and background score (various artists) is perfect, and the cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau is excellent. The food looks so yummy all thanks to the way he captures it. Editing by Robert Leighton was decent, but felt a little too pacy towards the climax.

Is it worth your time and money??: If you are a foodie, then this is a must watch. It’s also a must watch if you are a food critic like me. Even otherwise, go watch it for a brilliant performance by Jon Favreau, and the food. It’s food porn! 😀

Worth mention: All the cooking episodes, and the beer episode with Percy.

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 9/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 9/10

How To Train Your Dragon was a really cute movie and I really liked the 2010 film, so I was really excited about the sequel. While not as cute as the first, it’s still a good film nevertheless.

Directed by Dean DeBlois who co-directed the first movie, this one has Hiccup all grown up, trying to explore and find new worlds. What awaits him is a big surprise, and towards the end, a challenge against his best companion. Compared to the first, I thought too much was happening on the screen at a given instant in this one. While direction is neat, I thought it could have been better. The emotions towards the climax also could have been handled way better for everything happened so fast.

Music by John Powell is a definite asset to the film apart from the cinematography by Roger Deakins. The colors are brilliant and the 3D effects are good, but could have been better.

Is it worth your time and money??: If you loved the first film, you’re sure to love this too, but it just seemed a lot. Still worth a watch!

Worth mention: The scene where Toothless fights Alpha.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 9/10

Verdict: 8.5/10

We finally have a sequel to X-Men: First Class, which combines elements from almost all the X-Men movies. Yay!

After directing the uninspiring Jack the Giant Slayer, Bryan Singer is back with what he does best, directing X-Men movies. Scripted by Simon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, there are number of subplots and loose end which needed to be taken care of in this one, and Singer does a great job (while there are still few minor unanswered questions). The screenplay is very impressive, especially during the climax where both the past and future are running in parallel. However, I thought the future episodes could have been better handled.

The movie has a huge casting lineup, and everyone performs their best. After five movies as Wolverine (and a special appearance in the sixth), it’s more of a cakewalk for Hugh Jackman. I sometimes wonder if he’s born to play Wolverine! James McAvoy and Micheal Fassbender carry on from where there left off in First Class, with Fassbender having much stronger screen presence. Jennifer Lawrence looked super hot and did great, while Peter Dinklage is good. The rest of the cast is perfect.

On technical front, music by John Ottman could have been better (I feel so especially after amazing score by Hans Zimmer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2). His editing work is pretty neat though (apparently most of Rogue’s scenes were cut out, I wonder why). Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel is good, but the 3D effects and visuals weren’t really upto the mark.

Is it worth your time and money??: This is definitely one of the best movies in the series, but I personally liked First Class better. It’s still a fun film, with a lot happening. While The Amazing Spider-Man 2 relied on visuals to get you engrossed, X-Men: Days of Future Past relies solely on its script, and doesn’t disappoint. It’d be nice if you catch up with other films so that you understand this one better. You’ll be fine otherwise too.

Worth mention: Quick Silver during the pentagon break episode, and the past and the future shots during the climax.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 8.5/10