Star Trek – Into Darkness

If it weren’t for Star Trek – Into Darkness, my entire weekend would have been gipped (all pun intended).  I am only sorry that I saw Star Trek first and then landed up ruining the rest of my day with some crap that Bollywood decided to dish out as its summer bonanza of sorts.

Men In Black 3

Now this franchise is 15 years old… or should I say 15 years young!!!! 1997 is the first time we were saved from the scum of the universe. 15 years and a sequel later, we have the same team – and that to me is THE most surprising part of MIB III – the same team, coming back to save us from some more scum. Now how is that for a benchmark of commitment towards consistency? Take a bow people. Take a bow!!!

And Barry Sonnenfeld doesn’t disappoint. The director of other hits such as RV and Wild Wild West, teams up with his favourite star – Will Smith – once again to give us some vintage MIB stuff. All with upto date techniques of visual effects. Add to that some really good Alien Effects from Rick Baker – in a movie like this it deserved to be called out separately in the credits. What you get at the end of the day is the MIB essence which people in my age bracket have grown up with. But you also get a product that will appeal to the “children” of today ;) (notice the evident sarcasm).

J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are going about their business as usual saving the earth and reporting to their new boss O (Emma Thompson). But on the last 2 stake outs, J starts noticing something out of place and is not the most comfortable with K informing him that it is above his pay grade. Some more investigation and he finds out that Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement) who has recently escaped the world’s most secure prison has something to do with this.

Boris, with the help of his hot aide, escapes the Lunar prison and using a time machine goes back to alter the course of the universe. He kills K – and that’s only because K didn’t kill him the previous time – and now J finds himself craving for chocolate milk. Are you confused already? Don’t be. Coz all of the above has been done really well in the movie. And rest assured you will not be as twisted around as you are now.

The essence of MIB is retained all through with the quirky dialogues which may make little or no sense to the young and uninitiated. But fear not – coz they have nothing to do with the movie . What has improved dramatically is the quality of visual effects and the emphasis on the aliens. The story line is as always very straightforward but complicated with the use of unpronounceable galaxies and species.

I read this in another review and I quote, “That old canard is right: comedy is not easy. Science fiction comedy is even less easy”. I cannot agree more. 7 on 10 for certain.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3916407065/

She's Out of My League

There are movies that you watch because they ought to be watched. There are movies that you avoid because they ought to be avoided. And then there are movies that you watch because there is nothing better to do in life. Sitting @ home in Goa with no one around weekend before last, I had to kill time for about 30-40 minutes because Pizza was on its way and Juhi & Ashley (my friends in Goa) were out for some work. The couch potato (and u must see me these days – I look like a potato only) that I am, channel surfing took me to “She’s Out of My League” (SOML). Those who read my blog would know that I am a sucker for chick flicks. But what really got me to watch this movie was that I switched it on at just the right time – When the stunning Alice Eve makes her entry at the airport and heads turn. Jokes apart – I actually sat up and stared. Now here was a stunning beauty to say the least who had just walked into screen and I was so hoping that she doesn’t say something stupid and ruin the entire moment. Thankfully she did not. And therefore, I was resigned to watch SOML for the next 90 mins or so much to the chagrin of my hosts – my sincerest of apologies to Juhi and Ashley who are probably the nicest hosts to have tolerated my whim to watch such a lousy movie.

Because after that moment of Alice Eve’s entry, it is perfectly downhill. Kirk Kettner (Jay Baruchel - The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Tropic Thunder) is your average everyday boy next door (read LOSER). He typically spends his time with 3 of his friends who are also boy next doors (read LOSERs). Stainer (T.J. Miller), Jack (Mike Vogel) & Devon (Nate Torrence) are Kirk’s closest buddies – Chaddi Buddies type. They are your lower middle class folks for whom, getting a job is good enough. Now Kirk has the hots for Marnie (Lindsay Sloane) but she has dumped him 2 years back. The trouble is she continues to stay in his face coz Kirk’s parents think the world of her and Kirk’s elder brother and Marnie’s current are good friends. No one would have expected Kirk to get anywhere in life. That he had a job as an Airport Security person, was good enough. But that’s what gets Kirk to meet Molly (Alice Eve) and love happens along with some really bad slapstick American so called comedy.

Watch SOML only if you are suckers for punishment. If you believe American Pie was a 10 on 10 then SOML would be right up your alley. Anything lower than that and you have a problem on your hands. I am sure there is a separate genre for these kind of movies and I am quite certain that director Jim Field Smith is an expert of sort in this genre of movie making. In his first full length feature, Smith doesn’t quite leave much of a mark honestly. But I guess there is a market for crappy movies and he was just making the most of it. Why blame him. The only way you can sustain SOML is to fast forward to every scene that has Alice Eve in it – and there are lots. She is confident and awesome looking to boot. A tad short but who cares when you have a 10 on 10 otherwise. Avoid the movie like the plague cos it is playing on one of the movie channels. 3 on 10. Everything because of Alice Eve’s looks.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi870384665/