The Last Stand (2013)

Verdict : Fun for Arnold fans. For others a predictable story line with good action and entertaining dialogues.

Director : Kim Jee Woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, I Saw The Devil)

Cast : Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator series, Commando), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Eduardo Noriega (Open Your Eyes, The Devil's Backbone)

Story : An over the hill cop, few fresh faced deputies, a war veteran turned alcoholic and a loony gun collector are all that stand in the way of a drug kingpin and his mini army on the run from the FBI and headed for Mexico. What follows will blow everything away....literally.

Verdict : A trend has been started by the action stars of the 80's and 90's. They've returned to doing what they do best...beat people up. But they've started doing it in a tongue in cheek manner, taking into account their old age, accepting it and even making fun of it. The result has been some good action packed films for the audience. You had Stallone with Rocky, Rambo and Expendables, Bruce Willis with Red and Arnold joins the gang with The Last Stand.

As a movie the story is cliched. The plot points are very conveniently placed so that in the first 20 minutes you realize what is going to happen. The movie takes time get to top speed as all the characters are introduced...Then the mayhem starts.

This is where the director is in his element. He has shown is his flair of action in his South Korean films and doesn't disappoint here either. Once the guns come out it gets a lot of fun. All the actors get to shoot people including a sweet old granny. He uses Arnold's brute size and strength to good effect.

The acting is nothing much to write about. Everyone is one dimensional but seems like they're having fun.

Overall good fun for fans of action, especially fans of Arnold and even more so after the disappointment of Terminator 3.

P.S. Is it me or has Arnold's accent gotten even more pronounced.

Carnage (2011)

Verdict : Witty and insightful, a very good movie.

Director : Roman Polanski (Chinatown, The Pianist)

Cast : Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs, The Accused), Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader), Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained), John C. Reilly (Chicago, Wreck It Ralph as Ralph)

Story : Parents of two children decide to meet after their sons get into fight. What starts out as a cordial meeting between adults soon degenerates into petty squabbles, fights and breakdowns.

Review :  Polanski is regarded as a great director. With Carnage he once again proves why. The premise is simple and the movie is filmed in only one location. Its the characters and situations that he creates that keep you hooked. The conflict and tension he creates makes us realize the pettiness and ego that creeps into us as we grow up. He lifts the mask on adults superior attitude towards children and shows people for what they truly are. We were better of as kids.

His complex characters are bought to life beautifully by the cast. They put in stupendous performances. Every single moment genuinely feels like an interaction between 2 sets of parents with their own issues. They are complemented by some very sharp dialogues and interesting situations.

Overall worth a watch not just for lovers of good cinema but also to get a glimpse at how we complicate even simple things in our lives.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)

Verdict : Whimsical, Predictable but still a sweet film.

Director : Peter Hedges (Dan in Real Life)

Cast : Jennifer Garner (Alias, Elektra), Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Thing - 2011 remake)

Story : Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer and Joel) are  a couple desperately trying to have baby. When they receive bad news from the fertility doctor they write down their dreams for their child and bury it in a box in a garden. That night they are visited by Timothy a boy exactly like their dreams, who calls them mom and dad but has leaves on his leg. For the loving couple and their small town Timothy brings about a magical change.

Review : The movie has its heart in the right place. It wants tell a sweet story about hope. It has an adorable little boy as the center of the story. Very likable characters throughout. A little bit of magic and fantasy also thrown it.

However these very factors, at times, become shortcomings of the movie. The characters and their plot lines are predictable. Conflicts get resolved too quickly. Sometimes you get the feeling everything is diabetic sweet.

The direction and acting are very sincere but nothing spectacular.

Overall a decent heartwarming movie but not meant for those who want more shades in a story.

Super 8 (2011)

Verdict : Nice little homage to Spielberg and 80's sci-fi movies.

Director : J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Mission Impossible 3)

Cast : Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, Elle Fanning

Story : A group of kids witness a horrific train crash. Shortly afterwards unusual events start taking place in their small town and the kids start investigating the link between the crash and these events

Review: Right from the start of the movie you realize there is a very familiar and old school feel to it. As the movie progresses it becomes a complete homage to Spielberg's early sci-fi films as well as films of the Hollywood of 80's.So you have everything - a bunch of school friends in over their heads, a small town, an alien, a government conspiracy.

J.J. Abrams has shown he is adept at fast paced action films and doesn't disappoint here also. The kids put in some good performances. The adults in the movie don't have much to do. The alien is very well designed and genuinely looks scary.

Overall a good movie to watch especially for fans of sci-fi. However people who have not been exposed to movies like E.T. and Close Encounters, might find this boring.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)

Verdict - Inspiring, well crafted and meticulous but a tad too long.

Director : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6)

Cast : Farhan Akhtar (Rock On, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara), Pavan Malhotra (Black Friday as Tiger Memon, Jab We Met), Japtej Singh as young Milkha Singh

Story : The real life story of the Flying Sikh - Milkha Singh. How he battles his personal demons to become a world record holder, an Indian legend in athletics and very nearly wins an Olympic medal.

Review: It is sad to see that in a nation of over a billion people, we have so few sporting heroes. Consequently there are very few sports movies made in India and even lesser good sports movie. Only a handful of names like Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar, Chak De India come to mind. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag easily joins that list and to some extent exceeds them since it is based on a true story.

Rakeysh Mehra takes an ambitious project, executes it one a large scale and delivers a wonderful product. The film might seem a tad too long and some shots indulgent and unnecessary, but you can ignore them for the effort is very commendable. The inspiring story and wonderful direction are supported very well by some great music, excellent support characters (especially the under rated Pavan Malhotra and the gem of a discovery - Japtej Singh). Only Sonam Kapoor seems misfit in her role, thankfully though she doesn't have much to do.

Finally the center piece of this movie - Farhan Akhtar. He completely makes the role of Milkha Singh his own. From the delinquent youth to the determined athlete, Farhan does not slip out of his character even once. Even more commendable is the physical effort put in by him to transform him self. He genuinely looks and runs like an athlete.

Overall worth a watch for fans of good cinema and inspirational movies. Just make sure you prepare yourself to sit for over 3 hours. A task made even more difficult after seeing Farhan fun almost constantly in the movie.

Bunraku (2010)

Verdict : Visually interesting but overall a very flat movie

Director : Guy Moshe (Holly)

Cast: Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbour, Lucky Number Slevin), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, Natural Born Killers), Ron Perlman (Hellboy series as Hellboy), Gackt

Story : In the world of the future there are no guns. The "Woodcutter" is the strongest man with his 9 assassins. Two silent strangers come to his town with their own personal motives but intertwined destinies. And a bartender helps them on their journey

Review : Firstly the title of the movie.  The title of the film is based on a 400-year-old form of Japanese puppet theater, a style of storytelling that uses 4-foot-tall puppets with highly detailed heads, each operated by several puppeteers who blend into the background wearing black robes and hoods. 

Due to this visually the movie is very interesting and creatively done. The sets, the editing are very different and keep you hooked .

However beyond that the movie has its follows. Though a cliched story it could have been much more cooler. However it is evident that the director was trying to be too cool and that works against the movie.

In movies like this build up has to be excellent, the final battles epic and ably supported by the music. Unfortunately Bunraku disappoints in all three aspects.

Overall only watch it if you want to see same old thing in a different package but don't keep your expectations too high.

The Hangover Part III (2013)

Verdict: Decent but nothing memorable

Director: Todd Philips (Hangover series, Road Trip)

Cast: Bradley Cooper (A Team, Limitless), Ed Helms (The Office - TV series), Zach Galifianakis (Hangover Series, Due Date), Ken Jeong (Hangover series, Community - Tv series), John Goodman (The Flintstones, Monsters Inc)

Story : The wolfpack is assaulted. Doug is kidnapped. They must now find Mr Chow and $ 21 mn worth of gold bars to save Doug.

Review: No parties, no retracing steps and most importantly no hangovers this time around. This is a much more straightforward movie which feels more like an action comedy. After the flak the director received for Part 2, kudos to him for trying to attempt something different.

The end result is funny, entertaining at times, however not even close to the original. Alan's character and behavior seems more forced, Phil and Stu have less to do as compared to the previous parts, Mr Chow has a bigger role and is fun at times while John Goodman's is at his intimidating best.

Overall a time pass movie, worth a watch if you have nothing else to do, but a tame end to a disappointing series, despite the amazing start.

P.S. Why all the animal cruelty. Beheading giraffes, smothering chickens, snapping necks of dogs. All this is just not funny.