X Men First Class

This one is actually a slight dampner of sorts. Although the effects make up for a lot that it seems to have been missed in other departments and the fact that the number of X Men fans across the world aren’t going to reduce with probably the first effort that has been just over average would put the owners of the franchise at some ease. The mutants are here to stay just as they sign off by saying – MUTANT AND PROUD. You can expect many more stories going forward from this “different” bunch. In fact, X Men First Class has set it up beautifully for several sequels in the coming years. Rest assured, the impact from the previous 4 have left enough of an impact on fans and non fans alike to keep coming back to the movie halls. It will take quite a disaster to make any dent on the fan following.

The producers, however, have to really take a long hard look at the past 3 directors and they would probably find an answer there. Brett Ratner (X3), Gavin Hood (Wolverine) and Matthew Vaughn (XMFC) just don’t measure up to the magic that was created by Bryan Singer in X1 and X2. Ratner, Hood and Vaughn seem to rely much more on the effects and really don’t focus as much on building a story that is irresistible. Although XMFC does try to build up the background on the entire concept, I felt they tried to do just that little too much and lost out on the story somewhere in between. I wouldn’t be wrong if I were to say that the term First Class actually came to life – The movie seemed more like a class room session. Something like Course - XMen Class – 101 – I hope u got what I meant to say. It would be clear when u do watch the movie.

My intent till now has not been to blast XMFC at all and I must apologise if it was perceived as a whipping. The movie is definitely worth a watch and you will not get bored. The classic fan though may land up being a tad disappointed. But his passion will drive him to give the movie a score that is more than what it deserves. I would give it a 6 on 10. Maybe a bit harsh. But I am also pegging it against the previous editions and I find that this one was just about par for the course. And if the characters were not fleshed out as well as they were – especially Xavier, Magneto and Raven – I would have given it 5. But for these aspects, there is nothing much other than effects. Acting is just about there to create some aura around the characters. The casting is apt but then this is as much as what McAvoy and company can get upto in terms of acting in a super hero movie. It’s a big screen watch for certain – you cant watch XMFC on the small screen and miss out on the effects.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi168926489/

Unknown

I have been, and I am sure I speak for most of us out here, waiting for a movie that packs in a punch from the start to finish. We have been starved of anything remotely close to the action adventures that we are used to. The last good action movie I remember seeing also starred someone that I have never associated as an action star but has proven most of us wrong with some scintillating performances in the recent past. Last year, he starred as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith the leader of the rebel pack called as the A Team. And he has also taken up aggressive roles such as that of a desperate father Bryan Mills who is in search of his daughter in Taken. The nearly sixty year old, six and a half feet tall Liam Neeson, puts up yet another action packed performance in the role of Dr. Martin Harris in Unknown.


Mrs. Elizabeth Harris (January Jones) and Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) are from New Hampshire USA. They have just landed into Berlin for a Bio Technology Conference. Martin has been in conversation with Dr. Bressler (Sebastian Koch) for over 6 months now. Dr. Bressler has been in discussions with the Prince Shada (Mido Hamada) who is willing to put in truck loads of money towards ending the food problem in the world. The two scientists have been extremely involved in the entire process and as joke about how their wives must be crazy to stay married to them. Dr. Bressler has twin daughters – Lily and Laurel.

The married couple travel from the airport to the hotel where the summit is going to be held but Dr. Harris forgets his briefcase which is carrying all his identification. It gets left back on the strolley @ the airport. Once he realizes this, he leaves the hotel without checking in. But en route to the airport the car just about manages to avoid crashing into a refrigerator but is unable to avoid flying off the bridge and into the river below. The driver, Gina (Diane Kruger) manages to drag Martin out of the water but funnily doesn’t stay back for the police to come in. She quietly slips away before the cops come in. Four days later, Martin wakes up in a hospital and has no idea how he got there. His last memory is that of getting out of the airport. It would seem that he was in a coma for the past four days and the bump onto his head has led to a temporary loss of memory. He does struggle out of bed after a couple of hours and gets back to the hotel only to be told that there is already a Dr. Martin Harris at the hotel. His wife, Elizabeth also refuses to acknowledge him as her husband and instead calls for the new Dr. Harris (Aidan Quinn).

Liam Neeson continues to put up a performance which has a lot of intensity in Unknown. A couple of dialogues stand out. One of them which says, “You know what its like to be insane doctor? Its like being in a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are”. And Neeson delivers this with absolute cold intensity. Great to see Aidan Quinn back in movies. The last I remember him from would be The Assignment where he plays The Jackal. Diane Kruger’s performance as the illegal immigrant is extremely unconvincing. Grammatically correct English from a Bosnian who drives a taxi in Berlin. Am I missing a point here? Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction is quite solid to say the least. He does a good job in keeping you glued to the screen and looking forward to what would come next. At the same time, he is bad enough because one knows that there is something fishy about the good doctor and his wife from the first shot itself. Great action sequences and good impactful scenes pepper the entire movie. I believe it is a solid action flick making its appearance after a long time. Watch it. 7 on 10 from my side.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1552980505/

We Are Marshall

Now this one is an out and out A Grade Sports Movie. Must watch and must rank in the top 10 sport movies of all time. Easy pick for anyone who is looking for videos for a team building or an inspiration building class. And it definitely rates along with the likes of Miracle on Ice & Remember the Titans. However, the message is distinctly different and that makes it even more enjoyable and long lasting.


In December 1970, the entire Marshall University Football Team along with support staff and a few fans – dies in a plane crash. All 76 of them. In one sad but true instance – they are all gone. A team that more or less held the fabric of the town together. They were not really the best ever to play the game. But played it with a zeal and passion that would get them all the way to the top of the ladder when the time for judgement came. All of a sudden, the entire town, shell shocked comes to a grinding halt. Almost every family has lost a dear one – a son, a father, an uncle, a cousin, a very close friend, a hero.

Completely crippled by this, President Dedmon (David Strathairn) is about to call of the entire football programme for the year. However, the football team co-captain, Nate Ruffin (Anthony Mackie) will not give up without trying. Prior to the fateful game, Nate has dislocated his shoulder and therefore is not with the team when the flight crashes. He rallies every student in the university who assemble that evening to push the committee to reverse its decision to stop the football programme.

Prez Dedmon then begins his arduous task of firstly hiring a coach. Red Dawson (Matthew Fox) Assistant Coach is approached first. Red decided not to take the flight @ the last minute and drive home instead. He is obviously ridden with guilt and shock and still reeling under the impact. He politely declines. No coach, obviously so, is willing to take up the challenge of stringing together a football team when only 3 members of the original team are alive currently. No one with the exception of Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) who in his words thought, “what if I were to lose my kids – that would hurt. And then I thought get that to a family, a team, a whole town – that must hurt real bad”. Much to the surprise of Prez Dedmon, he offers to take up the job and starts with the tiring task of putting together a football team that would get some sense of semblance and self respect back into the lives of the people in the town.

Director McG (surely in the Guiness Book for the director with the shortest name in Hollywood) stitches together a multifaceted movie which examines the stress that we go through with a loss of a loved one. Every possible relationship has been dealt with to the best possible manner. Starting with that of Paul Griffen (Ian McShane) who is one of the most influential people in the town and loses his star quarterback son, Chris, in the crash. Paul goes on to become the biggest stumbling block in the lives of the group that want to restart the Football programme. His inability to cope with the loss of his son has been handled extremely well. Then there is Annie Cantrall (Kate Mara) who is Chris’ girlfriend and is engaged to be married to him. What does she do with the ring that Chris gave her? There is Tom Bogdan (Biran Geraghty) who misses the ill fated game because he overslept. Now how is he going to come to terms with the entire concept of being alive because he was irresponsible?

We are Marshall is one of the sports movies that really takes the focus out of the winning part in most such movies. It focuses more on the building of a team from scratch. It focuses on building relationships block by block, day by day. It focuses on how we need put several times of a higher effort to get things done when the chips are down. It focuses on how we need to really get creative in times like the Marshalls faced in the 70s. It focuses on the all important – never say die – spirit that epitomizes successful sportsmen. Definitely a must watch. Add to your collection if you can – 7 on 10 from my side as a movie.