Movie Review: Max Payne

Perhaps the director was thinking, “How do I inflict maximum pain on my audiences…oh yes, let me make a useless movie that makes them tear out their hair!”

Yes, you know my opinion of the movie. Skip it, please!

No, you still want to know? Persistent! Well it is about people who are drinking blue colored drugs and then believe are being collected by black winged demons. To protect themselves they wear tattoos… Now, these demonic forces have a link with the protagonist, Max Payne’s wife’s murder. This man is a detective solving unsolved mysteries…blah!

It is a twisted plot inspired by the Hulk – only Hulk was great, and this can be relegated to the back of line.

Stars:*

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

James Bond is seeking solace…he wants to avenge his girlfriend’s death. The first time you see him hung up on a girl! Else this Casanova is known to flit from one lady to another without a second thought.

Anyway, it has the usual action sequences and an element of drama. The neurotic villain who believes the world can be controlled by him, the Bond girl who believes can take on the worst of men, the doubting yet protective M and of course, 007 himself – emaciated looking at first, though.

Even then, it does not live up to the expectations set after Casino Royale. Daniel Craig is still flexing muscle, but the rawness that audiences liked so much is missing. However, the problem is with the flimsy story line itself.

Pierce Brosnan had been able to carry off the flimsiest of plots with ease – his suave approach, endless gadgets and soft smile had carried them through, but the new Bond is struggling on that count.

Daniel is indeed a great actor and we hope he gets to act in a better Bond movie soon and gets a much much better Bond girl. He deserves it!

Stars:***

Movie Review: The Dark Knight (Batman movie)

This Dark Knight is nothing short of amazing. If you do not catch this flick in the cinema this season, you will regret it…

Yes, I am a big fan of superhero antics, but Batman has forever remained one that hasn’t appealed to my senses. He just seemed just an angry rich kid who did not really get technology too much.

This movie, however, is mind boggling. It is intelligent, dark, scary and chaotic!

In fact, it is has plots and sub plots that are not easy to predict. As the Joker (Batman’s arch rival puts it), “I am not the scheming kind...I am like a dog chasing a car. If I ever caught one, I would not know what to do with it…introduce chaos…anarchy”.

To extrapolate a little, the best selling book The Black Swan talks of exactly this. Of course, more eloquently. It essentially says that we humans have a tendency to rationalize and look for logical patterns. We try, foolishly, to predict the next course of action…we expect certain outcomes. However, it is when a black swan ( i.e. completely random, unexpected event) occurs does it throws you off. The expected cannot make you panic.

Therefore, expect the unexpected.

The movie has really fantastic special effects. The suit, the weapons and the technology is more sophisticated. Joker is so dastardly that you do not hate him, but rather are astonished with the way his mind ticks.

Batman, Harvey Dent – the very respectable district attorney and the Joker are the prime characters.

I just have one thing to say – this movie is an absolutely, completely must watch.


Stars: * * * * 1/2

PS: The Joker is played by Heath Ledger. The actor passed away this January 2008. This role perhaps consumed him completely as he had rehearsed to play the psychopath all alone for a month in an apartment... A role he had described "extremely difficult", but is the best performance he ever gave....

Movie Review: Hancock

Yeah!!! This is not your ordinary good guy beats the villain and saves the girl story. Though, it does have this theme. (C’mon, it is a never fail formula)

This story is in fact about a drunk and depressed man who has amazing super powers. He can swing whales and trash trains with just one hand. He hates being called an “a**hole and flies into rage every time people call him that.

His idea of justice isn’t what the citizens of LA have asked for.

Being an amnesia patient he is sad and alone…he does not know who he is, why he has these powers, and if ever anyone even cared for him.

Yet, there comes along a savior who helps him pick up pieces of his life and work to make a difference. There are moments when you finally see the sadness behind his I-do-not-care power packed exterior.

Will Smith is brilliant here. Charlize Theron has quite an action packed scene that would make want to stand up and cheer for her. And yes, there is Jason Bateman, the PR man that god would want to hire.

Exciting, with a twist… Not typical, but astonishingly a comic hero movie that actually has some depth!

Stars ****

Incredible Hulk

It’s bigger and better than before.

The beloved monster has lost his girlfriend. He leads an ordinary life of a daily wager in Portugal. And in the confines of a slum dwelling is experimenting with antidotes for gamma poisoning.

But then such peace is only temporary.

General – the ever faithful villainous Army man is behind him. He has tracked down the Hulk and now he wants to capture him.

Hulk is a failed experiment; if successfully captured then the same gamma ray technology that turned the demure scientist into Hulk, could be used to make an army of humans ‘defending the nation’ with this incredible strength.

But the Hulk is invincible…

So, we have an army officer that during the course of the movie converts into a monster that is scarier and evil…

The drama continues with an awesome fight between Hulk, who now is the superhero defending his reunited girlfriend, and the evil monster.

The adrenalin rush never ends… Special effects are astonishing and the story is superb with an emotional angle that endears the Hulk to the audiences…

A sequel is surely due!

Stars: * * * *