Kick-Ass (2010)

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Writers: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn

Stars: Aaron Johnson, Lyndsy Fonseca, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage

My Review:

                Kick-Ass is one of the best films of 2010. This is a super hit action-comedy film starring Aaron Johnson, Lyndsy Fonseca and Nicolas Cage. Dave Lizewski (Johnson) is a geek studying in High School. Being a fan of comics and having suffered at the hands of muggers, Dave thinks of becoming a superhero and buys himself a costume and names himself Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass becomes popular when his ass gets kicked trying to save a complete stranger from three punks. Dave loves Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca) but she does not. One day Katie asks him about comics and asks him out for a coffee. Dave and Katie become friends and many of Dave’s dreams come alive just because of one lie.

                When Dave tries to do a favour for Katie, he meets two other super heroes namely Hit Girl (Moretz) and Big Daddy (Cage), who are really good at fighting and also the villain Frank D’Amico is introduced. Big Daddy was an ex-cop who was framed and arrested for Drug Trafficking by D’Amico. Hit Girl was his daughter and he takes revenge against D’Amico.

                The performances were above average but the plot and the comedy sequences were hilarious. The chemistry between Dave and Katie was good. The stunts and action scenes were also good. The film was well directed by Matthew Vaughn. The stunts at the climax were great. So to sum it up, Kick-Ass is a good film, worth watching.

My Rating: 7.7/10

Conviction (2010)

Director: Tony Goldwyn

Writer: Pamela Gray

Stars: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher

My Review:

                Conviction is a film based on a true story directed by Tony Goldwyn. Kenneth Waters (Sam Rockwell) is arrested and convicted for murder in the first degree and sentenced for life. Betty-Ann Waters (Hilary Swank), the little sister of Kenny and a mother of two, is not giving up on her brother and firmly believes that her brother is innocent. Betty-Ann decides to pursue law to become the Attorney of her brother. This film is all about the obstacles Betty-Ann faces in pursuing her penance of 18 years. Was her penance fruitful or a waste of life and career? Watch the movie to get the answer.

                Hilary Swank, the two time academy award winner was tailor made for the role. Whether it was a Mother, a Sister or an Attorney, she was impeccable and flawless. I loved every bits and pieces of her acting in this film. This film adds another feather on her cap.  Sam Rockwell was also good for his role of Kenny. He was great at scenes of his protest in the jail. Pamela Gray wrote the story very well. The way she described the characters was really good. The way the screenplay was adapted for the movie was great. Chipping in the clips from the past at right moments added spices and decorations to a beautifully served dish.

                Tony Goldwyn has directed this film to perfection. Paul Cantelon’s music was also good throughout the film. Especially the BGM when the credits roll off and the one before it were great. So Folks Conviction is one hell of a movie to watch and do not miss it. Feel the love for/of brothers and sisters, in fact it the only relation that last longer than any other. I being a little brother loved this film very much.

My Rating: 8/10

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Director: Lee Unkrich

Writers: John Lasseter (story), Andrew Stanton (story)

Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack

My Review:

                Toy Story 3 is the film third and final instalment of the Toy Story series. This film is the best of the three. It has the perfect plot and good characterization. Now the time for the toys with Andy is over as he is about to go to the college. Thus the toys end up at a day-care where a bear called Lotso rules the place. How do the toys encounter the troubles caused by Lotso is the rest of the film.

                The idea behind the film was excellent. The film was released in 3-D which boosted the revenues dramatically. This film bombarded the Box-office by achieving all time 6^th spot in the Domestic collections.

                The film has all the action, comedy and Drama sequences in it. It was the drama in the story that attracted me more to the film. The role of Lotso was excellently portrayed and turned out to be a great animated villain. Do watch all the three films to witness one of the finest series ever in the history of Animation film making.

This film got a great reputation from the film critics which earned a score of 92/100 from the critics.

My Rating: 8.4/10

Recommendation: Watch it!!! Enjoy the characterization and screenplay...

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part I(2010)

Director: David Yates

Writers: Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)

Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

My Review:

                The film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" is the seventh film of the Harry Potter series. This is the third Harry Potter film directed by David Yates. David Yates, not the best director in the Big Screen has provided a quality movie to watch this time. The long awaited Dual between Voldemort and Harry Potter is closing in on. No more Albus Dumbledore, but Yates has given the best of the series.

                This film which depicts only one half of the book of the same name, which is the seventh book of the Harry Potter series, hence the adapted screenplay is good. The film was also very dragging, slow and boring at some parts. Overall the film was good to watch. The original score in the film was good.

                The audio and visual effect in the film were really rocking. The face offs between Voldemort and Potter were excellent. As far as the acting goes, Ralph Fiennes as voldemort has delivered to my satisfation. Daniel Radcliffe who started the role of potter as a 13 year old boy has also done well, but my personel feeling is that the 13 year old potter was the best.

                To sum it up, the film could have been more interesting, many dragging unwanted scenes could have been edited and would have been a treat to the viewers. Still its worth the money to watch the movie as the most anticipated stand off between Voldemort and Potter is expected in the forthcoming movie, this is a good perquel to keep all the fans at the toes.

My Rating: 7.2/10

Recommendation: Watch it to get the flow to watch the dramatic finale of the series!!!

The A-Team(2010)

Director: Joe Carnahan

Writers: Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom

Stars: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley

My Review:

         Joe Carnahan who has directed films like Smokin Aces, Narc and BGBO, is a crime-drama specialist. All his films before this one has been in the genre crime-drama. But this time he has pulled off a stunner by writing a cent percent action story and has directed it. The plot of this film goes like this- The A-Team, a group of four american soldiers with Col. Hannibal Smith(Liam Neeson) as their team leader, are arrested for commited a crime for which they were framed. Can they prove to the world that they were framed? is the rest of the film.
       The thing that I like the most from the film was the creativity from Carahan both in his direction and the screenplay. The film is filled with heated action scenes and cool comedy scenes beautifully. Both Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley were very good at comedies.
       Liam Neeson playing the role of Col.Hannibal Smith was the experienced bloke of the four and has delivered a perfect Col. Smith. The combo of all these made this film a cool one for entertainment. I had very little expectations from this movie, but to my astonishment it surpassed my expectations by a mile.
      So Dont miss the funny comedies of The A-Team and the real Hardcore action film of Carnahan.

My Rating: 7.0/10

Recommendation: Watch it.. just for entertainment...

Unthinkable(2010)

Director: Gregor Jordan

Writer:Peter Woodward

Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Michael Sheen

My Review:

         This Thriller from Gregor Jordan is an appeal to the audience  "Should the Human Torture be legalised?". Henry 'H' Humphries(Samuel L. Jackson) is an Black Ops interrogator and an extortionist. Helen Brody(Ann-Moss) is an FBI Agent who works in the Anti-Terrorist Dept. The film starts with a video being sent to the FBI saying that a man named Steven Arthur Younger(A muslim convert from U.S) has kept 3 Nuclear Bombs in the country. Younger, from an Islamic origin is a citizen of USA and an ex-military operative. He is arrested and in order to make him elicit the locations of the bombs from him, H and Agent Brody are appointed and are taken to a High security secret base of U.S military. Now in order to get the information about the bombs, Should H do the Unthinkable? Will Agent Brody stop him from doing so? is the film.

      The film has been beautifully potrayed with the viewers look into the film from eyes of Agent Brody. Gregor Jordan has finally delivered a quality film at the big screen. Samuel L. Jacksom as H has dominated the film and has given a powerpacked performance. Matin sheen(Younger) and Ann-Moss have also delivered to the mark. The screenplay adapted in the film was excellent and the climax was good.

My Rating: 7.5/10

 Recommendation: Watch it...

The Social Network(2010)

Director: David Fincher

Writers: Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book)

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake

My Review:

        This film is a Biography of Mark Zuckerberg, creator of the social networking site called Facebook. Zuckerberg who is an undergrad at the Harvard University is a computer genius gets a revolutionary idea to begin a social networking website in 2003. He along with Dustin Moskovitz began this project which after six years has earned him 500 million friends and the title "The youngest Billionaire". As the caption on the poster of this film says "YOU DONT GET 500 MILLION FRIENDS WITHOUT MAKING A FEW ENEMIES, this film focusses on the development of Facebook and the lawsuits filed against Zuckerberg by the Winklevoss brothers and also his friend Moskovitz.

         At Harvard, Zuckerberg is recruited by Winklevoss brothers to develop a social networking websie but  Zuckerberg fails. Facebook which started as a website to socialize Harvard students, was taken to public by Zuckerberg with the help of Sean Parker, Co-founder of Napster. Parker and Zuckerberg moved Facebook to the next level but Moskovitz who did not like the partnership of Parker in Facebook was left behind. Thus he files the suit against Zuckerberg. With the development of Facebook, Winklevoss brothers file a suit against Zuckerberg for Intelectual Property theft. The films potrays what happens to Zuckerberg and Moskovitz.

         The film has been nominated for 8 oscars this year.Mark Zuckerberg role was played by Jesse Eisenberg, who acted in films like Beyond all boundaries, Zombieland etc, has given a stand out performance. His performance as Zuckerberg has earned him the OSCAR Nomination and Globes Nomination. David Fincher who has directed famous films like Fight Club, The Game, Se7en has also won the OSCAR nomination for Best Director(a favourite to win the award) and has won the Globes for The Social Network.

My Rating: 8.6/10 

Recommendation: Must Watch!!

Winter's Bone(2010)

Director: Debra Granik

Writers: Debra Granik (screenplay), Anne Rosellini (screenplay)

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt

My Review:

The basic plot of the film is the struggle of a 17 year old ozark mountain girl, Ree Dolly(Jennifer Lawrence) in saving her family from being homeless. Her father, a known Drug Trader who has gone AWOL from his family a few weeks ago. The situation goes south when Local sheriff meets Ree to inform her that her house has been kept as a collateral for her dad's bail. The house would be taken from her family if her father doesn't show up for his trial or the proof of his death is provided before it. Thus Ree sets off a journey to find her father but her uncle Teardrop(John Hawkes) asks her to step off it as the path would be very dangerous. Ree gets into many troubles in order to save her family. Does she find her father?? Was she able to save her family?? is the rest of the show.The film is slow paced, dragging thriller drama and Jennifer Lawrence has surpassed expectations by a mile. The last few minutes of the film is speechless. She gave a riveting performance along with a good performance from john Hawkes. The film is very good to watch with the family as it has the tender elements like leading the famil at a very young age, bondage between the brothers and sisters, Concerns for brother's daughter etc. The film is Great, the story and screenplay were awesome and acting was the best. She is good competitor for Natalie Portman to win OSCAR although portman has the edge. For me this would remain one of the best performances in the lead by an actress for many years. I am now a Jennifer Lawrence fan.

My Rating: 8.6/10

Recommendation: Must watch it. Enjoy the film with your family.

Animal Kingdom(2010)

Director:David Michôd

Writer: David Michôd (screenplay)

Stars: James Frecheville, Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton

Plot:

Tells the story of seventeen year-old J (Josh) as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.

My Review:

This is a crime-drama centered around Josh Cody(James Frecheville) who after the loss of his mother, has to live with his mother's family whom he had not seen for many years. His uncles who are well known Armed Robbers are being surveilled by the cops. How drastically does the life of a young boy changes due to his relatives is beautifully explained in this film. Det. Leckie(Guy Pierce) who is a veteran in solving armed robbery is brought into the case who targets the weaklink in the Animal Kingdom to capture the Lions. What happens to Josh?? What happens to his uncles?? is the film. Frecheville has given an extra-ordinary performance though he is a novice in Hollywood. I also liked the roles of Leckie and Barry. The film moves very slowly and has a good climax in the end. The screenplay was good for such a well written plot.

My Rating: 8.7/10 Recommendation: Must Watch it to understand how a single unforseen event could change your life completely.

Unstoppable(2010)

Director:

Tony Scott

Writer:

Mark Bomback

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson

Plot:
With an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train barreling toward a city, a veteran engineer and a young conductor race against the clock to prevent a catastrophe.

My Review:
Tony Scott is back with a fast paced action film after the failure of The Taking of Pelham 123. The plot is very fast with an unmanned train steaming into the city with braking system offline and it carries very toxic, inflammable materials in it. What do the Veteran Engineer(Denzel Washington) and the novice Conductor(Chris Pine) do to avert a catastrophe. Can they stop the freight train?? The suspense is kept till the end and the plot keeps us alive every second. As far as the performances go, both Chris pine and Denzel Washington have given decent performances for the roles they were provided with. Rosario Dawson would be my pick for the best performer of the film. The screenplay was good. Overall a good film for an action/thriller with not much importance given to acting.

My Rating: 7.2/10

Recommendations: Watch it if you just like the plot or a Denzel fan. Dont have high from either Denzel or Scott...

The Town(2010)

Director:

Ben Affleck

Writers:

Peter Craig (screenplay), Ben Affleck (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall and Jon Hamm

Plot:
As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent looking to bring him and his crew down.

My Review:
The long time thirst for a quality bank heist film has been quenched. Ben Affleck has given his best after a long journey of flops.The film is a balanced slow paced action/thriller movie. The story happens at charlestown which has the highest number of bank heists and robberies in the country.DOUG MCRAY(Ben Afleck) is a part of a heist gang. The intelligent MCRAY falls for woman(Rebecca Hall) who is the manager of the bank that he heisted before. He hides his identity to her and her's to his crew. Then comes the FBI Agent Frawley(John Hamm), a Heist cracker who looks into d case of Mcray's heists. The cat-mouse chase between Hamm and Affleck adds flavour to the film and the last 30 minutes of the film is where the film reaches its best. Ben Affeleck has given a good performance along with Hamm and Hall. The screenplay and the direction was awesome.

My Rating: 8.2/10

Recommendations: Must Watch it!!!

Black Swan(2010)

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Mark Heyman (screenplay), Andres Heinz (screenplay)

Stars:

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel

Plotline:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan, daughter of an evil magician.

My Review:
The film is a slow paced thriller with great BGM and costume design.The film is a classic visual masterpiece with a great performance in the lead role.The major plot of the film is Nina Sayers's(Natalie Portman) struggle to claim primo ballerina in a play called BLACK SWAN. Nina is an experienced ballet dancer who is a first choice dancer to acquire the Lead for the play of BLACK SWAN as the veteran dancer who performed so far has retired. Nina is motivated by her mother who is also ballet dancer but her career was a failure and she wants her daughter to achieve everything that she had failed to achieve in her life. A primo Ballerina in BLACK SWAN has two roles to perform, a WHITE SWAN with innocence and love, and a BLACK SWAN which is a sign of cunning, craftiness and sensuality. Nina's berth for the queen is challenged when a new dancer LILY(Mila Kunis) enters the academy. Nina is the greatest for the role of WHITE SWAN but struggles in the role of BLACK SWAN to achieve perfection. But Nina finds Lily to be a better opponent for role of BLACK SWAN. What happens to Nina?? Does she perform the lead?? Whom does she confront?? is the tale. This film is the masterpiece of Darren Arnofsky and Natalie portman. Well written plot by Heyman and wonderfully directed by Arnofsky and masterfully executed by Portman. Portman deserves OSCAR, GLOBES and BAFTA for her role. She has won the Globes and Nominated for BAFTA and OSCAR nominees is yet to come and I am very confident that she will lift that little golden statuete.

My Rating: 9.0/10

Recommendation: A must watch film for everyone who admires the beauty of Hollywood and Ballet.

The Fighter(2010)

Director:

David O. Russell

Writers:

Scott Silver (screenplay), Paul Tamasy (screenplay)

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams

Plot Synopsis
The Fighter, is a drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.


My Review
The movie is a classic Boxing film which focusses on the ups n downs in the life of a Boxing Legend MICKIE WARD(Mark Wahlberg). The major plus point to the film was the extraordinary performance of Christian Bale as DICKIE EKLUND, bro of WARD. Excellent acting was let down a bit in the departments of Direction. The Boxing shots gave an artificial look but still the brilliant acting from Bale and Amy adams covered it up. Bale and Amy Adams have given commanding performances that may lead atleast one of em to fetch an Oscar for their performance.

My Rating: 9/10

Recommendation: Must Watch Film