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Movie Review: ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ is a delightful fare ever seen before on the celluloid silver screen

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angry-birds-movie

Producers: John Cohen and Catherine Winder
Directors: Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly
Voice Over Artiste: Jason Sudekis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Kate Mckinnon, Bill Hader etc

In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we’ll finally find out why the birds are so angry. The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds -or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

The director duo Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly have really assembled a delightful fare for kids, youngsters and matured people.

With a movie as enjoyable as this it is very difficult to pin point a particular flaw.

It is a harmless kid’s tale that kids and adults can easily find humour in.

Movie Review: ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ is certainly not to be missed interesting fare

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Alice Through The Looking Glass

Producers: Tim Burton, Joe Roth, Suzanne Tod and Jennifer Todd
Director: James Bobin
Star Cast; Johnny Depp, Anne Hathway, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Mia Wasikowaska, Micheal Sheen etc

After slipping through a mirror, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself back in Underland with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Her friends tell her that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is depressed over the death of his family. Hoping to save his loved ones, Alice steals the Chronosphere from Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel into the past. While there, she encounters the younger Hatter and the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter)

Direction of James Bobbin is impressive but amongst the actors it is Sacha Baron Cohen who stands out with his superlative performance and the next in line performer is Mia Wasikowska in the title role of Alice.

This fantasy character of Alice has been rehashed time and again but all the sequels of this franchise lack something or the other.

It is a good visual treat for kids at the end of the summer vacation.

Movie Review: ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is a highly entertaining movie

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X-Men Apocalypse

Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Bryan Singer and Hutch Parker
Director: Bryan Singer
Star Cast: James McAvoy, Micheal Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byme, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till

Since the dawn of civilization, Apocalypse was worshipped as a God. Apocalypse, the first and the most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X – Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants.

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X – Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X – Men: Apocalypse yet another franchise and to his credit goes his slick direction. Besides all the actors powerful performance keeps the viewers glued to their seats.

Minuses: Some of the duelling scenes are far too dragging and boring. The movie can easily be scissored off at least by half an hour.

X – Men: Apocalypse is one more interesting addition to the super hero franchise which is not only interesting but also entertaining to the core.

Movie Review: ‘Money Monster’ is a first rate spell binding movie

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Money Monster

Producers: Lara Alameddine, George Clooney, Daniel Dubieki & Grant Heslov
Director: Jodie Foster
Star Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancario Esposito etc.

The plotted scenario of Money Monster kick start with Lee Gates (George Clooney) who is a bombastic TV personality whose popular financial network show has made him the money wiz of Wall Street. But after he hawks a high tech stock that mysteriously crashes, an irate investor Jack Budwell (Jack O’ Connell) takes Gates, his crew, and his ace producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) hostage live on air. Unfolding in real time, Gates and Fenn must find a way to keep themselves alive while simultaneously uncovering the truth behind a tangle of big money lies.

This edge of the seat thriller really keeps you hooked from start to end mainly because of director Jodie Foster’s excellent directorial treatment in tandem with the par excellence performance of all its major actors like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and above all Jack O’Connell as the investor who takes the entire TV crew as hostage.

The plot is convincing but the entire drama of the TV crew being taken hostage that too when the show is live on air seems too far – fetched.

Money Monster is a kind of film that can be recommended to one an all. Go watch it.

Movie Review: ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ is a heart warming film about true friendship

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The Man Who Knew Infinity

Producer: Edward R. Pressman, Jim Young & Joe Thomas
Director: Mathew Brown
Star Cast: Dev Patel, Devika Bhise, Jeremy Irons, Toby Jones, Stephen Fry, Jeremy Northam, Kevin McNally & Enzo Cilenti
Genre: Drama
Verdict: VERY GOOD

Plot: The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913, Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel), a self – taught Indian mathematics genius, travelled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where over the course of 5 years, forged a bond with his mentor, the brilliant & the eccentric professor, G. H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), and fought against prejudice to reveal his mathematics genius to the world. This is Ramanujan’s story as seen through Hardy’s eyes.

Aces: The mesmerising performance of the lead cast namely Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons & Devika Bhise. Hats off to debutante director Mathew Brown for presenting a true picture of a mathematical genius & his mentor without getting tempted to take refuge in the commercial gimmicks.

Minuses: It is a straight narration devoid of any entertaining relief.

Last Word: The Man Who Knew Infinity based on the book of the same name by Robert Kanigal does full justice to the subject at hand. This art house movie will also be a delight for the festival circuit audiences.

Movie Review: ‘Mother’s Day’ is an extremely boring fare

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mothers-day

Producer: Brandt Andersen, Howard Burd, Daniel Diamond, Mark DiSalle, Mike Karz & Wayne Allan Rice
Director: Garry Marshall
Star Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudekis, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Hector Elizondo & Jack Whitehall
Genre: Comedy
Verdict: POOR, Extremely Boring

Plot: Mother’s Day is the latest star-studded ensemble comedy from director Garry Marshall. Bringing together Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson & Julia Roberts along with Jason Sudeikis, it’s a celebration of mothers everywhere. This big – hearted comedy invites us all to enjoy the laughter, the tears & the love as 3 generations come together in the week leading up to the Mother’s Day.

Aces: The only good thing about Mother’s Day is a few laughs raised by some comic punches.

Minuses: Oh! What a waste of the ensemble cast’s acting skills proven by them over the years in innumerable movies.

Last Word: No need to waste your time & money and add insult to injury.

Movie Review: ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ is an exciting thriller full of suspense drama

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10 Cloverfield Lane

Producer: J J Abrahams & Lindsay Weber
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Star Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher, Bradley Cooper, Suzanne Cryer & Jamie Clay
Genre: Suspense Drama
Verdict: GOOD

Plot: A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she’s locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. Uncertain what to believe, the woman soon determines that she must escape at any cost.

Aces: 10 Cloverfield Lane is good edge of the seat thriller especially because of the actor’s sterling & mesmerising performance aided and abetted by director Dan Trachtenberg’s excellent directorial treatment.

Minuses: The only thing missing in 10 Cloverfield Lane is lack of entertainment value.

Last Word: 10 Cloverfield Lane is a spiritual sequel to the 2008 thriller Cloverfield. In a way both the films live up to the expectations of the audiences who love disaster movies.

Movie Review: ‘Before I Wake’ is a spine chilling horror fare

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Before I Wake

Producer: Sam Englebardt, William D. Johnson & Trevor Macy
Director: Mike Flanagan
Star Cast: Kate Bossworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Trembley, Annabeth Gish & Dash Mihok
Genre: Horror
Verdict: GOOD

Plot: Jessie (Kate Bosworth) & Mark (Thomas Jane) adopt a new foster child, Cody (Jacob Tremblay) after their son Sean dies. They soon find out that Cody’s dreams become reality, but his nightmares are deadly. Jessie & Mark must figure out what to do before one of his nightmares kills.

Aces: Director Mike Flanagan has succeeded in creating the right aura of horror as well as the mysterious suspense besides extracting good performances from all the actors especially Jacob Trembley.

Minuses: The entire background soundtrack for the horror sequences is too jarring.
Last Word: Before I Wake is a good watch after a dearth of right horror movies for a long time.

Movie Review: ‘The Jungle Book’ is a delightfully entertaining film for one & all

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The Jungle Book

Producer: Jon Favreau & Brigham Taylor
Director: Jon Favreau
Star Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Alba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Gary Shandling, Brighton Rose, Sam Raimi & Russell Peters
Genre: Adventure
Verdict: Very Good

Plot: Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is a human boy raised by the Indian wolves Raksha (Lupita Nyong’o) & Akela (Giancarlo Esposito) ever since he was brought to them as a baby by Bagheera the Black Panther (Ben Kingsley). When the fearsome scarred Bengal Tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) threatens his life since man isn’t allowed in the jungle, Mowgli leaves his jungle home. Guided by Bagheera & Baloo the bear (Bill Murray), he sets out on a journey of self – discovery while evading the man – hunting Shere Khan. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who do not exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), the Indian python, and the smooth – talking Bornean orangutan -resembling Gigantopithecus.
King Louie (Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive & deadly “red flower”.

Aces: Director Jon Favreau deserves a standing ovation for making a delightfully entertaining movie for kids, in fact one which will be definitely enjoyed by one & all. Performance wise Neel Sethi, the debutante child actor, is the scene stealer. The film also has an overall technical finesse. That apart all the voice over artiste too, deserves a special mention.

Minuses: The inappropriate use of the songs which does not jell well with the adventurous mood of the film.

Last Word: The previous Jungle Book movie made in 1997 was an animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s novella and the latest version of The Jungle Book is the live – action movie based on the same novella which has surpassed even the previous attempt. And the 2016 movie The Jungle Book made in 3 dimensional is like an added bonanza.

Movie Review: ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ is a spellbindingly spectacular movie

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batman-v-superman-dawn-justice

Producers: Charles Roven & Deborah Snyder
Director: Zack Snyder
Star Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter & Gal Gadot
Genre: Sci-fi Oriented Action & Adventure
Verdict: GOOD

Director Zack Synder in his latest outing Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice has done full justice to DC Comics characters, Batman & Superman. And apart from being a follow up to Man of Steel it also happens to be the 2nd instalment in the DC Extended Universe.

Plot: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice follows the immediate events after Man Of Steel in which Gotham City based vigilante Batman (Ben Afleck) travels to Metropolis to pre-emptively combat Superman (Henry Cavill), with constant fear lurking in his heart as to what would happen if Superman is kept unchecked, while another threat of the most vicious kind endangers humankind.

Aces: Director Zack Synder succeeds in making a suspense oriented edge of the seat thriller especially in the 2nd half of the movie. Besides he has also maintained its grandeur & glory. That apart all the actors have done a good job but a special well – deserved mention goes to the credit of Ben Afleck as Batman & Henry Cavill as Superman. Both the actors have delivered a flawlessly impeccable performance.

Minuses: Some of the yawn inducing mayhem & disaster oriented violent sequences which could have been easily sniped off from its two and a half hours excessive length.

Last Word: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is certainly a not to be missed film. And please don’t be a spoil sport by revealing its climax nay anticlimax.

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