Zambezia

There is great Animation (Turbo) and there is good animation (Epic) and there is just about average animation.  Zambezia is unfortunately part of the last of the 3.  Just about average. Sometimes, I guess movie houses get it right by not releasing a movie in this part of the world.  But then, why go through the effort in the middle of year after the release? I wonder.

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.

Transformers Dark of the Moon

Now that’s what you call a partnership!!! We are talking about Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. And the reason I am gushing over this is because of the common sensical approach to making sequels which most people seem to have forgotten. Retain the director for all parts!!!! The same reason why an X Men turns out to be average is the reason why Transformers turns out to be executed with a significant amount of consistency. By now, Bay knows the concept of The Transformers so well that making one more would be a mechanical effort – almost robotic. One may argue that it gets boring for audiences but it would be quite contrary. A person who knows the concept inside out would be able to experiment equally well and do justice to the end product. On the other hand, someone who comes in fresh not only may struggle to do justice but also be working under the pressure of the performance of the previous movies. I take X Men as a classic example because it is just obvious. The last 3 directors have failed to get X Men upto the level that Bryan Singer took it to.

Transformers : Dark of the Moon, in all honesty has one of the corniest build ups that I have seen in cinema to date. It starts off on the premise that the mission to put man on the moon wasn’t driven by some desire to see the moon but more so because of an alien aircraft crashing into it. This was way back in the 60s. It also puts forward that the Russians could not get man on the moon but did get a camera which got some good shots of this space craft. The last corny part was that the Chernobyl disaster was caused by Aliens. Once we get these trivial parts of the build up out of the way, the movie picks up pace. And how. The space craft is actually an Autobot craft designed and piloted by the legendary Sentinel Prime (Leonard Nimoy) and the mission is initiated to retrieve the aircraft. It leads to the discovery of 5 pillars but when Sentinel awakes he informs the team that there were hundreds of these pillars. No wonder that Megatron is interested in the entire concept. Probably his last chance to take control of Earth or Cybertron.

Like the previous 2 movies, this one too is nearly 2.5 hours and the first 30 minutes is quite wasted in the long build up. As mentioned earlier, it does pick up pace but I personally believe that neither of the movies deserved more than 90 minutes of overall time. That Michael Bay can hold your attention for so long is credit to his directing capabilities. Also, I wonder what was the need to end the relationship that Sam (Shia Le Bouf) had with Mikaela (Megan Fox) and replace it with the fresh and “amazingly hot but don’t know whats wrong with her face” Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – don’t get me wrong folks, I think she is hot alright but was there a need to change the eye candy as such. Didn’t quite understand the reason. Overall, entertaining and as good as the first part, Transformers Dark of the Moon is a must watch @ 7 on 10

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi543989017/

Star Trek

Most of us have grown up with the joke which said why did Captain James Kirk go into the ladies toilet. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE. These 9 words have always been on top of mind recall the minute you say Star Trek or anything related to the Starship Enterprise. Or for that matter NCC 1701 which is the registration number of the Enterprise. And most of all the magic 4 words that is known to everyone in the enterprise because they are most useful in the desperate times that its members find themselves more often than not – BEAM ME UP SCOTTY (Simon Pegg)!!! J J Abrams (the director of Mission Impossible III) takes us on the journey before getting to the Starship enterprise that you and have seen; with the use of stunning visual effects all through. Would have expected nothing less with Star Trek.


This story begins with a very young George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) who is suddenly saddled with the leadership of the space craft when they get attacked by a huge Romulan Ship out of the blue. The Romulan Captain, Nero (Eric Bana – a very sinister looking one) asks for a face to face with the captain of the ship. He is in search of a half breed Vulcan who goes by the name of Spock (Zachary Quinto). But he doesn’t realize that he has gone back in time and is now over 25 years behind time. Frustrated, he kills the captain and opens fire on the ship which is now led by George who orders immediate evacuation of the flight and ensures that his pregnant wife, Winona (Jennifer Morrison) is taken to safety. Malfunction of the auto pilot forces George to stay back in the craft and eventually give up his life.

Growing up fatherless has its drawbacks and James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), genius by any standards is a rebel without a cause at just over 20 years of age. He aces all his tests but doesn’t want to join the forces. As if he were trying to prove a point. But all of that is till Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), who served with George Kirk, bumps into young Jim at a bar brawl. He spends sometime trying to drill sense into the bull headed young man and asks him to enlist with the forces. The next day, James Kirk enlists himself and begins his training. Over time he gets to meet Spock, who is considered as arguably the best brain in the part of the universe that we come from and also becomes close friends with Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban). Spock and James start off as individuals who hate the sight of each other. Surprising right, considering they are always seen as best of friends. Just one of the few surprising things that will come your way as you watch the prelude to the real thing.

As mentioned earlier in the review, special Effects have always been the hallmark of the Star Trek series and most die-hard fans would not have it any other way for sure. And you will not be disappointed one bit with this version either. That along with Make Up, for which it won its only Oscar last year added with the tremendous fan following that it has ensures that Star Trek finds itself @ 189 in the imdb top 250 list. There are some solid performances as well from the entire star cast. None that are stupendous in anyway but definitely above average. The use of sound and light to deliver the traditional feel of battles in space is beautiful. The only reason it lost the Oscar for Visual effects was that it came up against Avatar in the final draw. I would peg this as a must watch for fans of the series or otherwise. It plays quite regularly on Star Movies I think. Catch it the next time for sure if you haven’t seen it yet. 7.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1761608473/