Wrath Of The Titans review

Wrath Of The Titans

Story: Perseus's defeat of the huge Kraken is history. He now vows to live the life of an ordinary fisherman with his son, Helius. But then the son of God cannot live without his destiny forever. The Gods -- have otherwise in store for him

Movie Review: There's always scope for improvement. There's ample scope for the clash (2010: Clash of the Titans) to turn into some real action-packed wrath (2012: Wrath of the Titans). Here's calling all you Clash of the Titans buffs who just could not wait to see their second dose of video game push button fantasy come alive on the big screen.

So what's cooking between the Gods and the Titans this time? The same old war for the I'm-the-best title. But unlike its previous years, the Gods are losing control of humanity and taking over are the badmaash Titans and the deadly giant-sized Kronos. That's where our been-there-done-that hero from the past, son of the all-powerful Zeus ( Liam Neeson), Perseus (Sam Worthington) steps in to put up yet another spectacular show with the spear of Tritum -- the only weapon that can kill the one who shall not be named. Of course, there's a gamut of labyrinths and changing loyalties (Ralph Fiennes's Hades and Edgar Ramirez's Ares) he has got to deal with first.

Back to all Clash of the Titans fans. Don't go expecting for a storyline that'll make you go all hail Liebesman. After all, when was this Gods versus Titans versus Demi Gods series all about a colossal plot anyway. But then here is what makes up for the same. First, it's the edgy action cuts -- the coming soon calamity drama, fist fights with fire exploding beasts, two headed beasts, unheard of and unseen before beasts, the fight between the one-eyed Cyclopes (who literally tears out of the screen) and our war heroes, the will-Perseus-won't-Perseus-make-it on time situations, the ultimate falling of the Kronos, explosions unlimited. Then there is the element of the mysterious --  the island of Kail, the labyrinth leading to the dark dungeon of the underworld called Tartarus, the Kronos made out of a huge, huge mound of lava -- the falling of which gives this sequel an epic finale. Next is the ultimate hero, the demi God. This time it's not just Sam Worthington who seems to have mastered the art of fighting with the evil Gods, but also Toby Kebbell as son of Poseidon. Toby's God-turned-man avatar, Agenor, comes with a rather mortal sense of humour. Lastly, it's a message rather loud and clear -- Not that the Gods must die too. Not even that man will be all powerful provided he uses his power wisely. It's the possibility of yet another sequel -- watch the sword of honour being passed from Father (Zeus)... to son (Perseus)... to son (Helius).

A word about the 3D effects. Definitely not much to make the Gods happy, but surely enough to send the message -- of wrath -across to us mortals.

Act of Valor User Reviews

 

Awesome

Outstanding movie! This movie Rocks big time. Forget what the critics have said, see it for yourself. This is the real deal. I will be the first in line to buy it when it comes out on DVD. Don't let others fool you with bad reviews. The movie was great and the action scenes were superb. My wife loved the movie and wants to see it again. There was not a dry eye in the audience. This Navy Seals are master operators. I want to see more movies like this one. I heard real ammo was used to kept it authentic. I can't recall another movie using real ammo. The locations were exciting and kept the movie full throttle ahead. Congrats to all involved in this masterpiece.

John Carter User Reviews

 

Spectacular -- Transporting -- Surprisingly Moving High Adventure Epic!

By my standards, "must-see" films are getting to be rather rare. This one is by all means a MUST-SEE for everyone who loves science fiction and/or super heroes! Long before Superman, there was John Carter. Many have very likely forgotten what a resourceful and imaginative writer Edgar Rice Burroughs was. Most people only know he authored the original TARZAN. The movie JOHN CARTER is based on Burroughs' novel, A PRINCESS OF MARS, and his 1911 vision of an advanced civilization on Mars is truly astonishing. Upon seeing this, the first question you will likely ask is, "How is it no one has filmed this fantastic, mind-blowing, eye-popping, compelling sci-fi adventure saga before?" Well, there have been a few faint attempts but the true realization of John Carter's magnificent adventures waited patiently for the masterful CGI wizardry of director Andrew Stanton and the 2012 resources of Disney/Pixar. Amazingly, Mr. Stanton shot this heavily CGI-based epic on film! According to the director, he did so simply to see what it was like to make a movie like this on film before film is gone. The experience apparently has made him a fan of the classic motion picture medium and I imagine we will hear more from him on why. Of course I'm not going to give anything away. Suffice it to say that, thankfully, JOHN CARTER is a complete film experience: a suspenseful, dazzling story -- efficiently and superbly told -- with dramatic and unforgettable visuals -- and compelling, moving performances. Lynn Collins is particularly brilliant and beguiling as the exotic and dynamic Martian princess. Throughout the film the detail is extraordinary and the pacing is right on the mark, relentlessly drawing you forward into the wonder of this newly discovered, challenging, turbulent world. What a magnificent adventure saga! Let's put it this way: if you liked Sinbad, you will LOVE John Carter. Thanks to a sure-handed director, an inspired cast, and state of the art technical people, it's a fulfilling experience that I predict will remain with you always -- especially if you are among the young! JOHN CARTER is the ultimate exotic adventure; a masterpiece of cinematic action and pacing.

The Hunger Games User Review

1.

 

Dissappointig

Knowing how much Lionsgate spent on the marketing I can assume that many of the reviews I have read before were fake! Like the one review saying "there will be blood, lots of blood" ??? Where was the violence, all the fighting scenes where done in this shaky matter so you could only guess what happened. "Adrenaline rush" What? The movie took a very slow pace and that didn't change throughout the movie. I haven't read the books but it might get interesting if it comes to a revolution but please drop the PG 13!!!! What I liked was the Acting of the Great Mr. Harrelson and Mr. Sutherland and of course the costumes they where magnificent. The lead role didn't do a bad job either, her opponent, Kato felt like the Bully kind of guy in Highschool and didn't quiet convince me. There is potential and I wanna know how it will go on. The 8,0 it got now is not a deserved score hopefully the next one will deserve it!

2.

A true game-changer for movies aimed at teens.

Let me start by saying that I'm a huge fan of the "The Hunger Games" book series by Suzanne Collins. I've read them countless times and when I found out they were making a movie of them a little over a year ago I was very excited. But I was also worried.

"The Hunger Games" is not very easy source material. The book is written in first person narrative with very detailed descriptions of everything form the characters' looks to the strange futuristic devices they use in Panem, the future version of the U.S. where the story takes place. I couldn't imagine that they would be able to convey every detail as I had imagined it and make the story believable without an R-rating or a huge budget. All of my concerns were wiped away when I saw the movie.

I've never seen a more faithful adaption of a book in my life. All of the costumes, the sets, the locations, the cast (I'll talk more about them in a while) and the pacing is as if they were exactly replicated from the book. And the small things that do differ or are added (such as more insight to the gamemakers' control room) only add to the amazing world Collins created and improve the narrative movie-wise. And the movie is great for people who haven't read the books as well. Not once did I feel as if something was vague or badly explained.

The cast is stellar. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss carries the movie and makes me regret complaining about her casting because she was too "hot" and not starved enough. She IS Katniss and one can feel the graveness of an situation just by looking at one of her expressions. Josh Hutcherson as Peeta is also a true breakout performance. The way he looks at Katniss will makes girls all over the world envy her, just like it's supposed to be. Other standouts in the cast include Stanley Tucci as the flamboyant talk-show host Caesar Flickerman, Woody Harrelson as the sarcastic but caring mentor Haymitch and Wes Bentley as the sinister game-maker Seneca Crane (his final scene might be the best one in the whole movie). The child actors Willow Shields and Amandla Stendberg who portrays Prim and Rue are believable and heartbreaking even though they're inexperienced.

Despite the PG-13 rating the movie doesn't gloss over or sugarcoat anything for their audience. The violence may not be gloriously graphic but it's still there. People will feel the tributes' pain and despair and not even realize the violence isn't gory until you've left the theater. The movie also deals with important themes like survival, governmental control, grief and helplessness. There is a minor love story subplot, but it doesn't distract from the movies main themes. In my opinion I think it rather improves them by showing some light in the dark.

The only complaint I can think of is that the movie feels too short. It's almost two and a half hours long, but it feels as if it goes by in a blink. I will have to see it again to fully pay attention to every detail (such as the costumes and animation of the Capitol, which looked amazing). But this is still not me saying that the movie is rushed, because as I stated the source material is very dense and the filmmakers managed include almost everything.

People are expecting this to become the next Twilight-style teen movie franchise. I can't say I think the two stories have anything in common even though I hope "The Hunger Games" will do as well at the box office. But if the first movie is any indication of the quality of what's to come - this will be a series way out of Twilight's league.

21 Jump Street User Reviews

21 Jump Street (2012) 

*** (out of 4) 

Reboot of the 80s TV series features Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum playing cops who go undercover in high school to try and discover who's passing around a new drug that has already killed one kid. When there the once dork Hill finds himself popular while the once popular Tatum finds himself with the losers as they try to track the drugs. I will admit that I never watched the original series so I'm not even going to try to compare them but I did find this movie to be hilarious at times and quite often very clever in its attempt to show some homages as well as spoofs. I think the film works so well because the two leads actors are simply so good in their roles. It also doesn't hurt that the two of them can work so well together and can play off one another and really take a joke and run with it. There are some hilarious bits here including a few running scenes with a motorcycle gang, which are just hilarious. Once again it's scenes like these where the screenplay really shows how clever it is because you expect certain things to happen yet they don't and the film can't wink at you for it. I thought the character development was also pretty good for this type of film as both cops really go through some ups and downs and it doesn't add up to melodrama but instead some nice growth for them. Of course, people aren't coming here for drama and thankfully this is left to just a few scenes. The rest of the film is 100% comedy and I'd say for the most part the jokes work. We get some silly laughs, some gross-out humor and just about every other type of humor you can think of. The screenplay goes all out in regards to how it gets the laughs as it really doesn't care how to do it as long as they come. I'd say that a good 80% of the jokes work very well and those that don't still aren't too bad. The one negative thing is that the film goes on way too long as we start to get dragged down in a few too many scenes that are just pushing away the obvious ending. With that said, the movie works extremely well thanks to the two leads but the cameo also works to perfection.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax User Reviews

For a children's film to work, it usually has to cater to both the children and the adult that brings the children to the film. Movies such as Shrek and Wall-E have perfected the tightrope dance that this requires. The Lorax throws that idea right out the window—and suffers considerably in the process. Instead of finding a way to please both audiences within a single storyline, the creators of The Lorax created two parallel stories—one for the adults; another for the children.

The children's storyline is very much like the Three Stooges. With the wildlife and terrain that Dr. Seuss provided, the slapstick is obviously enjoyable to the children. But it just keeps going. The same slapstick antics are used time and time again. The lack of creativity is a stain on the honor of Dr. Seuss. With everything that he poured into this world, it shouldn't be too difficult to pour some extra effort into the movie. Right?

The adult side of the film is worse. Although the "save the planet" storyline is interesting at first, it quickly loses its appeal. By the time the movie is concluding, you will feel like the creators are slapping you. If I wanted to be preached to about how I was destroying the planet, I would tune into Infowars. In the meantime, the storyline progresses haphazardly. The end is absolutely absurd. I found myself hoping for a quick end. On the plus side, my wish was granted.

There are a few plus sides to the movie. Danny Devito does a good job in his role of the Lorax. Why Taylor Swift was picked, however, is beyond me. Even her voice shows how lacking her acting ability is. The one part of the movie that still has me confused is the singing. The Lorax starts off with a song. I thought I simply hadn't realized it was a musical. But then there's no more singing…until halfway through. This movie can't decide if it should be a musical or just a movie. I must say that the songs are catchy. On the other hand, the song about greed will terrify children.

The Lorax is not a children's film worth seeing. If you want to see a great children's film with subtle political undertones, watch Wall-E. That movie does everything that The Lorax fails at. 2012 has been an awful year for children's films. Journey 2 was even worse than The Lorax. I hope this trend changes soon. Luckily, there is still ten months left in the year to remedy that problem.

Paan Singh Tomar Movie Review

Tigmanshu Dhulia does it again. AfterSAHEB, BIWI AUR GANGSTER, he once again comes out with a compelling film. This one's a biopic on India's forgotten athlete, PAAN SINGH TOMAR. In fact, this movie celebrates the forgotten heroes of India's sporting arena, some of who have died in penury.

The first half has you totally in the grip of Dhulia and the main protagonist Irfan Khan, who flawlessly essays a complex role with dexterity. A soldier who moves to the athletic division because that is where he will get to eat more; breaks all national records and competes at the International Level and then after retirement, has to pick up a gun to defend himself. Dhulia takes you the whole circle with Irrfan's PAAN SINGH TOMAR in tow.

CHECK OUT: PAAN SINGH TOMAR- Film with a reality touch

Very early on, when Tomar is being interviewed by a journalist he states, 'Dacait to parliament mein milte hain.' This sets the tone for the reels that follow. The process of establishing Paan Singh's plight, his talent and desire to battle on the front, rather than run a race is captured brilliantly. The background score effectively lifts the scene several notches higher; whether it is Paan Singh in a race, staging a kidnapping or even gunning down his opponents.

Unlike SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER when no actor outshines the other, here, Irrfan outdoes himself and the others. The rest, even Mahie Gill, is judiciously used keeping the focus of the film in mind. Everything moves around Paan Singh.