Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 8:28 AM
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Fantasy
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Steve Carrell, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins
BruceAlmighty, the predecessor to this movie, focused on Bruce and his tryst with God in the bid to outdo Evan. Now, Evan Baxter (Carrell) faces God (Freeman) when he decides to quit journalism in favour of running for Congress. His slogan, �Change the World� attracts a lot of following and attention which wins him an office in Congress. Congressmen Long (Goodman) is pushing for a new land reform bill for which he wants Evans backing. Evan does the mistake, or maybe the right thing, by asking God for help in �Changing the World�. God instructs him to create an Ark if he wants to achieve his goal and forces him to become Noah and build a huge boat which would survive an inevitable flood that God would bring down upon the people of New York. The movie is very different from the previous movie and lacks the slapstick humour and stupidity that is often associated with Jim Carrey. Carrell tries his best at being funny, but is no Carrey. That said, the movie is far from boring and is a decent entertainer and a way to kill time but does not score very high on the 'Movies to Watch Before I Die' list.
Thumbs up: A good entertainer
Thumbs down: Could be funnier, maybe Carrey should have been around
Rating: 6.2/10
Average Movies,
Comedy,
Drama,
Fantasy,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 7:48 AM
Starring: Tim Allen, Barbara Barrie, Elisha Cuthbert, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Jenna Elfman, Andie MacDowell, S. Epatha Merkerson, Eric Christian Olsen, Lindsay Sloane, Paz Vega
The name; just read the name, again and again. The title gives away each and every little aspect of the movie but its still my duty to run you through the 90 minute piece of boredom. Henry Lefay (Allen) is a man of many women who starts dating a new one the moment he is bored of the current one. Wife No.1 Effa (Merkerson) the wife that nobody knew existed, wife No. 2 Kate (MacDowell) who thought she was the first wife all along until Effa came by, also the only wife to have borne Henry a child named Barbara (Cuthbert). Wife No. 3 & 5 Ophelia (Elfman) the sex-hungry cougar and the only one to have married Henry twice. Wife No. 4 Veronica (Vega) the Spanish beauty who stayed on with Henry as a business partner, wife No. 6 Autumn (Sloane) who is almost as old as Barbara and Sarah Jane (Dewan-Tatum) his girlfriend whom he was going to marry and divorce Autumn for. Henry dies in a para-sailing accident in Mexico and Barbara needs to take care of his last rights, along with bringing all the wives together and coming to a conclusion on how the funeral/cremation should be since Henry conveniently left various instructions with different wives. The movie sounds interesting but it sadly isn't. All hopes of good humour are quickly dispelled and one is left with a boring and dragged movie that had far more potential. Performances were mediocre, some slightly humorous bits were okay and you don't need a psychic octopus to figure out where the movie is taking you.
Thumbs up: Good story
Thumbs down: Bad execution, lack of good humour
Rating: 5.7/10
Average Movies,
Comedy,
Drama,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:11 AM
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Starring: Raayo Bakhirta, Kartikeya Tiwari, Divyendu Sharma, Nushrat Bharucha, Sonalli Sehgal, Ishita Sharma
What is the biggest tragedy of a mans life? If you don't have a girlfriend you're sex and love deprived and if you have one, all the happiness is sucked out of your life. Three young men learnt this the hard way when they decided to abandon to path of 'guys only' to tread the path of love and lust. Rajat aka Rajjo (Tiwari) starts dating Neha (Bharucha) an over-possessive, demanding and dominating woman. Liquid aka Nishant (Divyendu Sharma) falls in love with Charu (Ishita Sharma) someone who is already booked in a long-distance relationship. Choudhry aka Vikrant (Bakhirta) gets into a relationship with Rhea (Sehgal) who keeps going back to her ex and cant seem to get over him. Each of them become dogs behind their respective women and realise that they have lost all the fun and frolic that previously existed in their lives. The movie starts off at a good note with funny, urban humour and a constant cascade of abuses but soon moves towards drama, romance and melodramatic scenes. The movie is a decent entertainer overall but suffers from the typical Bollywood infection of being stretched, over-dramatised, having needless songs and slow progress. Yet, in spite all these flaws, the movie is a good watch especially either with your loved ones or a gang of friends.
Thumbs up: Different humour from the normal slapstick in Bollywood
Thumbs down: Stretched and suffers from typical Bollywood drawbacks
Rating: 7.0/10
Comedy,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 7:41 AM
Genre: Sports/Drama/Action/Biography
Starring: Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Melissa Leo
Based on a true life story, Micky Ward (Wahlberg) is an Irish-American welterweight professional boxer who has been living in the shadow of his elder brother and dominating mother. His elder half-brother, Dicky Eklund (Bale) was a not so successful boxer whose only shot to fame was when he knocked down Sugar Ray and became a local hero. Dicky became a crack addict and failed to train his brother correctly due to which he simply kept getting older without getting anywhere. Micky's mother, Alice (Leo) was Mickey's manager who doted on her elder son, overlooked all his wrongs and chose to control most of Micky's life. A string of wrong decisions, lost fights and bad training saw Micky going down in boxing which also led him to lose all self-confidence. He fell in love with bar girl Charlene (Adams) who made him stand up against his family and choose what is right and what is wrong for himself rather than let his mom and brother call the shots. The movies biggest and greatest highlight is Christian Bale and his fantastic performance. Nobody would say that the thin, dazed, doped and pale actor was the very same man who previously played Batman and many more such roles in his career. Bale and his performance shone throughout the movie accompanied by Adams for which they both won supporting actor awards. An enticing and interesting movie which is almost flawless.
Thumbs up: Marvellous acting and performances
Thumbs down: None in particular
Rating: 8.2/10
Action,
Biography,
Drama,
Sports,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 7:50 AM
Genre: Sports/Drama/Action
Starring: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elizabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka
Daniel (Macchio) and his mother Lucille (Heller) have just moved in to Los Angeles from Newark when Daniel�s mother got a new job offer. Daniel is not liking the move and is finding it hard to adjust. He befriends and falls in love with Ali Mills (Shue) who comes from an affluent family who too loves him back. Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny (Zabka) is jealous of Ali's new love and does not like the fact that she has gotten over him for someone else. Johnny makes Daniel�s life miserable by beating him up and bullying him at every opportunity. Mr. Miyagi (Morita) is the local repairman in Daniel�s neighborhood who learns of Daniel�s problem and agrees to teach him Karate to defend himself. Daniel has two months to train himself for the big championship where he intends to take Johnny down once and for all. The movie has garnered a cult following over the years and has become a known name in martial arts movies. The character of Mr. Miyagi as the wise Japanese old man has been replicated through various forms over the years. The plot, however, is too basic and highly predictable right till the very end. In spite of its overtly predictable plotline, the movie manages to keep audiences engaged and shows the true spirit of Karate over what the commercial Karate schools intend to teach. A good entertainer for the entire family.
Thumbs up: Great action-packed martial arts entertainment
Thumbs down: Simple and predictable story
Rating: 6.8/10
Action,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Sports,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 3:21 AM
Genre: Science-fiction/Adventure/Action/Drama
Starring: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Steve Buscemi, William Fichtner, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, Ken Hudson Campbell, Jessica Steen
World catastrophe movies are not new but somehow Armageddon stands out from the crowd. Harry (Willis) is a business tycoon who has made a fortune from drilling oil. His hands-on approach and close involvement in his rigs has given him the title of being the world�s most experienced and accomplished driller. He and his team have drilled on every possible location and situation that Earth could throw up to him and this time he faces a new situation, something even beyond Earth. A huge asteroid, the size of Texas, is heading towards Earth which would most likely result in the extinction of all life forms on Earth. NASA has a limited time frame and tries all possible options to put Earth out of harms way and the only solution appears to be to land a team of astronauts on the asteroid, drill a hole 800 feet deep and plant a nuclear bomb within it. Who else than the accomplished Harry Stamper to do the job? The movie seems very far-fetched in most ways. Firstly, the whole concept of landing on an Asteroid and drilling through it is too outlandish for anyone�s likings. The action is very typically Michael Bay with random and incoherent explosions which are over-dramatised. The only commendable aspect of the entire movie is the method in which the audience tends to fuse with the characters and share the emotions and bonds of love and death. The drama adds tremendous value to the movie and without it, the movie would probably be a complete washout.
Thumbs up: Great mix of action and emotion
Thumbs down: Too outlandish and bizarre
Rating: 7.3/10
Action,
Adventure,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Science-fiction,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 7:46 AM
Genre: Crime/Action/Drama/Comedy/Spoof/Adventure
Starring: Mike Myers, Seth Green, Beyonce Knowles, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine
The James Bond with obscenely high testosterone levels is back once more to make the ladies shiver with excitement and save the world. Austin Powers (Myers) has learnt that his father has been kidnapped and is stuck back in time in the '70s. He must go and save him from the clutches of Goldmember (Myers) an obnoxious Dutch who loves Gold and equally loves eating his dead skin. He encounters an old acquaintance Foxy Cleopatra who is working undercover as a part of Goldmembers team. Austin meets Dr. Evil (Myers) who too has travelled back in time to take Goldmember to the future and help him destroy the world. Austin along with Foxy must prevent Dr. Evil and Goldmember from accomplishing their evil deed and save the world from ultimate doom. The movie series were famously known to spoof various spy movies, especially the James Bond movies which provide the basis for all jokes and story. Myers exceeds expectations but increasing his role from 3 to 4 by executing the character of Goldmember apart from Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard. Its an insane laugh riot which might seem very similar in humour to its previous movies but is still a very fun movie to watch.
Thumbs up: Mike Myers
Thumbs down: Overdone humour in the series, lacks freshness
Rating: 6.9/10
Action,
Adventure,
Comedy,
Crime,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Spoof,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:04 PM
Genre: Drama/Crime
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames, Bruce Willis
There is something about Tarantino's movies that is unsaid. There is a deeper insight, a test of patience, ironic humour, characters that don't add any value to the story and a simplicity within complexity that make his movies so outstanding. The movie revolves around the everyday lives of a handful of individuals with no relevance to each other who merely cross paths for a few minutes in the plot. Vincent Vega (Travolta) a hit man along with his associate Lance (Jackson) need to recover a briefcase filled with gold from their bosses partner. Marsellus Wallace (Rhames) a local gangster hires Butch (Willis) a boxer to go down in a pre-decided boxing match. Vega wants to go out for dinner with Wallace's wife Mia (Thurman) and denies any affection for her but simply enjoys the company. Most of the movie focuses on the finer aspects of each of their lives with subtle humour. The movie oozes of Tarantino's style in and out and much of the movies character was re-used whilst making
Inglorious Basterds. Typical to Tarantino, the movie does not follow any chronological sequence and hence one needs time and patience to understand and fully appreciate the cinematic brilliance.
Thumbs up: Samuel L. Jackson and everything else
Thumbs down: Long, slow and stretched
Rating: 8.5/10
Amazing Movies,
Crime,
Drama,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:54 PM
Genre: War/Action/Drama/History/Biography
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Neal McDonough, Thomas McCarthy
Can a single photograph change the course of world events? Not likely, but for US Marines Ira Hayes (Beach), Rene Gagnon (Bradford) and John Bradley (Phillepe) it certainly did. Set in WWII, USA is launching an attack on Japan and needs to capture the island of Iwo Jima. Most of the movie narrates the occurrences on the island and gradual advancement of the troops. The marines planted the US flag atop a mountain on the island and a photograph taken at the correct time reached the mainland and the press in no time. Three marines who survived from those that planted the flag were recalled back to USA to market war bonds in the effort to fund the countries war efforts. The US treasury was empty and dollar had lost any value it ever had. The country cannot borrow anymore and hence is trying to sell bonds to the citizens and hopes that the photograph along with the presence of the three marine officers would aid the sale. The movie comes from Clint Eastwood and anyone familiar with his recent movies would quickly identify the style to be very similar to its other movies. The movie is a directors delight and has a lot of appeal and insight. It smartly weaves multiple plot lines together without making a mess and keeping audience attention intact. One of the better war movies of this age and a superb watch.
Thumbs up: Phenomenal direction and acting
Thumbs down: The story lacks variation and seems to show the same thing over and over again
Rating: 7.6/10
Action,
Biography,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Historical Event,
War,
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