(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zoey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend

Summer Finn (Deschanel) is the average next door girl with average looks and an almost average personality. Yet, there is something inside her that attracts each and everyone around her. Whatever she does and wherever she goes, there is always a mass of people doing the exact same thing behind her. Tom (Gordon-Levitt) is an architect who is working as a cartoonist in a greeting card manufacturing company. When Summer joins the company as the bosses assistant, Tom falls in love. Summer and Tom get along as good friends and things start to progress rapidly when suddenly Summer mentions that she is not looking at anything serious but its too late since Tom already is. The movie might appear to be the average run-of-the-mill love story but it actually isn't. Its less of a fictional romance and more of a practical love story which almost every other person experiences. Even though the plot might not be as interesting, the form in which the movie is narrated with the constant back and forth in time has made it unique and interesting. Its this back-and-forth formula which can blow your mind away and the vast effort that might have gone behind it to give a positive outcome should be appreciated. Good performances coupled with a good plot execution has made this a great movie for lovers to watch together.

Thumbs up: Great way of narrating a plot

Thumbs down: Average storyline

Rating: 7.3/10

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Comedy, Drama, Good Movies, Romance,

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Singham (2011)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Kajal Agarwal, Prakash Raj, Sonali Kulkarni

Corruption and crime are known to influence Indian politics, so much so that if an honest person tries to wipe it clean, he would get wiped clean. Bajirao Singham (Devgn) is an honest police inspector in a small town of Goa. Jaykant Shikre (Raj) is a notorious crook known for extortion, murder, money laundering and the likes. He is ordered by court to report to a specific police station every few days and mark his attendance. That very police station which is under the authority of Bajirao Singham. Shikre disregards the law and tries to send a nominee on his behalf, much to the ire of Singham who demands that Shikre himself appear. This does not go down well with him and enmity sparks with each side swearing to take down the other. Singham later learns of inspector Rakesh Kadam who shot himself because he too was a good cop and wanted to expose Shikre but was unable to do so. His wife Megha (Kulkarni) approaches Singham and demands justice for her dead husband. The lion is out in the forest to hunt for the dear and when the lion goes hunting, he never returns empty-handed. The movie is filled with the angry Devgn smashing everything that comes in his way. Over-the-top action sequences are rampant throughout the movie which is what makes it hugely interesting. The only let downs was the forced romance angle that was added and the not-so-climaxing climax scene. All in all, a great action movie and a must watch for die hard fans.

Thumbs up: Good performances, entertaining action

Thumbs down: Forced romance and drama sequences that breaks the movies momentum

Rating: 7.2/10

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Action, Bollywood, Crime, Drama, Good Movies,

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La Ley de Herodes (1999)

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama

Starring: Damian Alcazar, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Alex Cox, Leticia Huijara, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Isela Vega, Salvador Sanchez

English title: Herod's Law. The Mexican PRI political party was notorious for its corrupt party members and shady dealings. Lopez (Armendariz Jr.) a PRI party leader appoints a janitor Juan Vargas (Alcazar) as the Mayor of a run-down Mexican village after its previous Mayor was murdered by locals due to his corrupt dealings. Lopez wanted someone stupid and insignificant to run the post until the new elections came so that the party does not lose ground. Juan is over-joyed that he has finally managed to taste success but his joy soon evaporates after he sees the dismal condition of the town. He tries hard to stay away from corruption and wrong-doings and tries to take the honest path in turning the town around. He soon realises that its a job that is not going to be very easy without the power of money and the force of a pistol. The movie has a very interesting start and promises a good two hours of entertainment. Juan's tireless struggle is definitely fun to watch but after a while can feel a little dragged. The genre takes a sudden twist around the half-way mark and it sheds the comic for crime and murder, a shift which seemed a bit too drastic and sudden. Fabulous performances and all in a all a nice neat watch.

Thumbs up: Great performances, good story

Thumbs down: Sudden shift of genre

Rating: 7.3/10

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Comedy, Crime, Drama, Good Movies,

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Bodyguard (2011)

Genre: Action/Crime/Romance/Drama

Starring: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Reema Debnath, Rajat Rawail, Rose Dawn, Asrani

Every actor has its own panache which makes him/her different from the crowd and can manage to create a niche for themselves. Salman Khan is one such man whose rapidly swelling fan-following comprises of those individuals who love his over-the-top aggressive attitude, slapstick humour and unrealistic action. This character or style may not be loved by all but it is the image the actor has created. Bodyguard Lovely Singh (Khan) has owned himself a name for being the most safest man to be around you. Single-handily thrashing twenty goons, jumping off running trains, throwing people six feet in the air is no big deal for this macho man. Sartaj Rana (Babbar) is a rich elite man who once saved Lovely's life when he was a child and as a mark of respect, Lovely diligently works for him whenever the need be. Divya (Kapoor) the daughter of Sartaj is going to university and Sartaj's enemies are plotting to attack her in order to get even with him. Lovely has been appointed as Divya's bodyguard and must follow her everywhere she goes, much to her despise. Divya hatches a plan to get Lovely off her back, a plan that would later have disastrous consequences. If one simply accepts Salman the way he is, the movie is actually quite entertaining to watch. The last 45 minutes seemed dragged and a last minute addition to an otherwise decently evolving plot line. The biggest let down in Salman's character was the lack of any interesting action sequences. All the action seemed like the same punches, jumps, kicks and throws with no interesting variations. That coupled with the end scene was probably the only two things that pulled an otherwise decent movie.

Thumbs up: The macho Salman and his flamboyant attitude

Thumbs down: Uninteresting action and poorly developed ending

Rating: 6.3/10

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Action, Average Movies, Bollywood, Crime, Drama, Romance,

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