Fantastic Four (2015)

I can only guess or speculate when I make this statement that even Hollywood seems to be running out of good ideas for cinema.  Why else would one try and relaunch a superhero franchise that was not perceived as a great one to begin with.  More importantly, why would someone try to narrate the same story again?

Man On A Ledge

Asger Leth – quite a different name right? He is new to this business with the exception of one arbit TV Series which sounds half French very honestly. Ghosts of Cité Soleil. That’s what it is called. Sounds weird right. But let me tell you that Asger Leth knows how to direct a thriller. I was slowly but surely taken into Man On A Ledge. The trailers seemed interesting enough and the movie turned out to be even better. Asger seems to be one who understands the genre of Thriller movies better than most new directors.

The essence of a Thriller being to begin slowly but surely. Set up the tempo by giving the audience a background of what exactly has happened. Also give the audience a sneak peek into what could happen. Throw in a couple of twists and turns in between this entire shebang to throw the audience just that little bit off track. And then again get them back just as they are about to give up on what is happening. And finish off in style with an ending that the audience could have predicted but yet couldn’t have because of the twists that you have thrown in. That is what one would call great narration. And Asger Leth seems to have been taught by someone who really knows how to create a thriller. All credit to Asger that he has been able to convert what he has learnt into very solid execution.

What helps Asger is also very good support from a cast which is made up of reasonably well known names but no huge stars with the exception of one Ed Harris who plays a negative role – probably the first time after The Rock (which was more of an anti hero). But he sure does deliver. He does have the strongest screen presence of the cast undeniably. Sam Worthington is quite solid as well as the protagonist. Does get over shadowed by Harris in the few scenes that they are with each other but that’s Harris’s experience which gets the better of Worthington.

Elizabeth Banks is probably the only weak link in the entire movie. She has performed reasonably well but in some scenes, where she is unable to pull off a convincing scene. Like when she tries to get a fingerprint off Nick Cassidy by pretending to be a smoker – oops scene very honestly. Doesn’t come off well at all. And a dialogue or 2 where the intensity just doesn’t come through. Other notable performances from Jamie Bell as Nick’s brother Joey and the sizzling Genesis Rodriguez as Angie. Genesis actually shows that there is some acting talent other than just sizzling hot looks.

Net net, Worth spending time and hard earned money for this 6.5 on 10. Deducted half a point for some basic consistency errors. But don’t worry. Most people will not get the errors. Worth watching.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4159021337/

The Adventures of Tintin - The Secret of The Unicorn

The ever revered and loved Herge (may his soul rest in peace) had once gone on record to state that if there was anyone who could have made Tintin into a movie it would have been Steven Spielberg. Now why would anyone else not dare to challenge this statement? To figure out the answer to this conundrum, you will not have a choice but to watch the movie. It is only Spielberg who can do justice to an enigma that has regaled us for over 8 decades now. A fantasy, that has transformed every child’s ambition at sometime or the other from wanting to become a pilot or a businessman or a doctor or an engineer to just that of an investigative journalist. A cult classic that has been enjoyed by even those who have crossed the half century mark in terms of years walked on earth. A phenomenon that took the world by storm in 1929 and has truly stood the test of time. On a different note, only Tintin could have inspired Spielberg to make his first animation movie. Spielberg was meant for Tintin and Tintin (the movie) was meant to be made by Spielberg and no one else.

For those who have not had the good fortune of being Tintin slaves, I can only quote the term, “deprived children”. Do take this opportunity to read The Secret of The Unicorn before you watch this movie because it personifies another term that expresses the desire of any book lover (comic or otherwise) – being true to the book. Spielberg has turned every single window from the comic book into a frame and not left anything to chance. Every single detail has been brought to life and that would hearten both the Tintin maniac or otherwise alike.

John Williams start to the movie with the jazzy tune does remind you a bit of “Catch Me If You Can” (DiCaprio, Walken) but I don’t think it could have been done better than what you hear. The soundtrack is simply stunning and one track is aptly titled “Loch Lemond” (visit any of the Tintin fan sites to research this piece of trivia). I could not resist smiling when I read this in the credits.

The casting is picture perfect. Jamie Bell is superb with the voice of Tintin but the highlight to me was Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Daniel Craig as Red Rackham.

What catches your eye immediately after the titling are the blue grey eyes of Tintin. Herge would have been thrilled to bits (and I would be putting this mildly) with the idea of the simple dots being replaced with “eyes”. The attention to detail is stunning – including the simplest of details like the anchor on Captain Haddocks jaded blue sweater. And yes, one cannot help but wait for the “Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles” and “Thousands of Thundering Typhoons”. If it would get a tear to your eye – fear not my fellow Tintin Crazy Fan because it is indeed worth shedding a tear on.

The trailer calls it - A Race against Evil. A World Beyond Imagination. An Adventure beyond belief. I don’t think words would do this masterpiece any justice. It hurts me to say this but my lead runner for this year’s Oscars in the animation category, Cars 2, has just found itself some really stiff competition. It would break my heart to see Cars lose out yet again but Spielberg has given the jury enough to chew about. I give this 8.5 on 10. I leave the judgement to you as to which one was better.

One last point - This is the first Hollywood movie to be premiered in India.  Over the world, it is releasing only Christmas Day.  Rocking I Say!!!!!!

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2415828505/

The Eagle

Yes this is yet another one of those Gladiator kind movies. But this time in Anno Domini. 140 AD to be precise. Around the time when the Roman conquest had reached the northern part of Britain. Marcus Aquilla (Channing Tatum) asks to be posted as a commander in Britain much to the surprise of the legion. Rome’s conquest of Britain is not going too well with the spirited Northerners pushing the Romans back. This led to the creation of what we know today as the Hadrian’s Wall which runs right through the centre of Great Britain. In times like these, it is indeed surprising to see a young man who could have been posted anywhere to specifically ask for Britain. The previous commander doesn’t even wait to be formally relieved by Marcus and takes off. Marcus, however is quick to earn the respect of his soldiers when he commands an ambush on a local tribe that is after Roman blood. The respect for Marcus only increases manifold when during a second fight, he shows exemplary valour in standing up and facing near certain death.


It is only around this time that it becomes a bit clear as to what is his driving force of moving to Britain. His father was the commander of the ninth when the legion’s golden emblem was taken away in an ambush. His father lost his life in the bargain and could not save The Eagle. Now there are way too many old mother’s tales doing their rounds about what exactly happened and Marcus wants to know the truth and put an end to all the speculation. His plans are set back significantly thanks to a very bad leg – remember he stood up and faced death. He loses consciousness and almost his leg. We he does come around, he finds himself at his Uncle’s (Donald Sutherland) place somewhere in Britain. During his recovery, he saves a local boy from being killed in a regular fight against a gladiator. Esca (Jamie Bell) becomes his slave in return for saving his life. Things come to head when a couple of politicians come to visit his uncle and talk loosely about his father and how the loss of The Eagle was an insult to Rome. Having said that, they are still not willing to do anything about it. Marcus decides to take matters into his own hands and crippled leg and takes off with Esca to find The Eagle.

The Eagle exposes director Kevin MacDonald’s inability to produce a solid movie like his previous attempts in the absence of a good cast. For that matter, any director with a cast like this one would have struggled to give a decent end product. In that context, I tip my hat to Kevin Saar. Although the movie tends to be a drab in parts and MacDonald fails to hold your attention throughout, the end product would have been much worse with someone else if I were to hazard a guess. The sheer incompetence of Channing Tatum to emote on screen is not only very obvious but also gets onto your nerves after a point in time. And Jamie Bell doesn’t help too much either. What stands out is that in a movie like this – all Gladiator – Spartacus type is the absence of a woman and therefore thankfully the movie doesn’t drop to being soppy. One of the few saving graces. Needless to say, I don’t have anything against actresses and all of you would be very familiar with my stance on the fairer sex. Its just that I have always strived to find a reason to have an actress and unnecessarily up the romance / glamour quotient in a movie about the Roman Legion. On that hopefully “not perceived as sexist” note, I give this movie a 5 on 10. Kevin MacDonald – better luck next time with the casting.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2014091801/