Bollywood World

Trailer


Review

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 25th March, 2016
Time : 151 minutes
Director : Zack Snyder; Writers : Chris Terrio, David S Goyer based on characters created by Bob Kane / Bill Finger (Batman) and Jerry Siegel / Joey Shuster (Superman); Music : Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL
Starring : Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane. Scoot McNairy, Callan Mulvey



Everyone is very angry in this film � for reasons known or unknown


The people of Gotham are not sure they want the Batman (Ben Affleck) patrolling the streets anymore.
The people of Metropolis are very sure they don�t want Superman (Henry Cavill) to be running amok � especially after an incident in Africa, which results in a lot of collateral damage and inspires a Senate hearing, led by Holly Hunter.



For some reason, Batman is furious at Superman � ostensibly for having led the aliens to Earth. For reasons even harder to decipher, Superman / Clark Kent is angry at Batman and warns him to stop answering calls from citizens for help. And finally, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is angry at everyone and on his own trip � here, we aren�t even given any reasons as to why a billionaire, owner of a vast business empire � is so obsessed with Superman and Batman.




The only one who wears a smile for most of the film, is the mysterious Gal Gadot � who has a knack for turning up at the right place at the right time � and is as keen on examining Lex Luthor as Ben Affleck is�but what�s her secret ?




It�s all very dark, very grim and very angry. The action is good, the film moves along at a good pace, Batman in particular, has a few new tricks up his sleeve, but nothing awe-inspiring overall, nothing which really stays with you. I found Henry Cavill to be very serious, too somber in his portrayal of the Man of Steel - had the same issue in his earlier film too. And the same applied to Affleck�s Batman � was just simmering with too much rage to be caring enough about his city�s citizens.



This film smacked of DC Comics making a full-on attempt to catch up with the success of Marvel Comics. Even copying part of their formulae, trying to bring their marquee characters together. As kids, one of the aspects that intrigued us about these super-heroes was how they would square off against each other. Batman Vs Superman takes that thought quite literally, and if you take aside the heavy-duty special effects, comes across as quite kiddish on the whole.

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 24th April, 2015
Time : 142 minutes
Director & Writer : Joss Whedon, based on characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Music : Danny Elfman
Starring : Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, James Spader (voice), Paul Bettany (voice), Don Cheadle, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Idris Elba, Hayley Atwell, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis (whew, some cast, isn�t it�.)

If you havent seen the first one, you could read my review here



Wasn�t it in Megamind where someone said, a superhero movie is only as good as the villain ? Leaving aside the irony of the fact that such a profound thought, about the balance between good and evil, comes from a children�s animated film � and the fact that its true vice versa � what villain do you think could seriously challenge our team of superheroes, make them sweat ? They were almost cocky in the opening sequence � cutting through a mini-army, destroying tanks, mashing missiles � with an arrogant ease�And that is why, you�ll like the villain the makers come up with�Ultron�who provides more than a fight for our Marvels�




In the beginning its about an organization called Hydra. Then its about Loki�s Sceptre. Then two fascinating twin mutants (Aaron & Elizabeth). Then Ultron. And then something else�At times you may even feel its all of the above�but even the ever-changing nature of the villain is a thrill, keeps us and our planet�s Guardians (sorry, that�s another Marvel series, no ?) on their toes.

They retain certain key elements from the first one (and why not, it worked, didn�t it ?) � the slight edge-laden banter between them; the differences in opinion, especially on the big stuff; the secretiveness, the cliques; how each of them has a role, no one really shortchanged (not an easy writing task, as anyone who�s written a multi-character story will tell you); and the Hulk continuing to be the joker in the pack�





There are jaw-dropping action sequences. Good music. An overall storyline that is interesting enough to keep you entertained despite the many obvious flaws (which superhero film is without them). But its the repartee that keeps you hooked � some excellent, crisp dialogue � the mini-battles between some of them : Ironman vs Captain America (�He�s the boss�I only pay for, design everything and make everyone look cooler�); The twin mutants vs Hawkeye (�You didn�t see that coming?� and jibes about his age); Black Widow and Hulk (singing lullabies�); Ultron�s philosophical musings about human frailty, dripping with sarcasm and the song he hums (�I�ve got no strings to hold me down�); And a really hilarious sequence about Thor�s hammer�which doesn�t exactly end as you would expect�




This isn�t the first film about artificial intelligence and doomsday scenarios�Terminator, i,Robot, even Transcendence� After a while, with most films around robots, it does get a bit mechanical (pun intended), watching them fight, get beaten � the mid section does flag a little � but overall, its still quite enjoyable, there is plenty of flair, panache to keep things interesting. Am going to be a bit generous and go with possibly a slightly higher rating � just because its not easy to pull off a sequel with so many superheroes, super villains and still manage to entertain !

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 10th April, 2015
Time : 94 minutes
Director : Tim Johnson; Writer : Tom J Astle, Matt Ember based on the book by Adam Rex (The True Meaning of Smekday); Music : Lorna Balfe
Starring (voices of) : Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones



Half the points here are for the story, the animation and the dialogue. The other half are for the voice of Jim Parsons, who�s dialogue delivery so uncannily suits the scrambled Yoda like grammar of his race, that it just makes everything funnier. And this is despite my being a very intermittent viewer of his act as Sheldon in Big Bang Theory



The Boovs are a species that specialize in running. Usually from the Gorgs, their sworn enemies. They�ve now, led by their Captain Smekday (Steve Martin), come to Earth and, aided by a couple of nifty devices, have managed to transplant the humans to settlements in remote areas while they�ve taken over the rest of the planet. After a long time, they feel safe, until an error by Oh! (Jim Parsons) threatens to expose their location to the Gorgs, making him an instant outcast and fugitive. At the same time, Tip (Rihanna), a young teen, left behind by the relocation effort, wants to find her mother (Jen Lopez). These two fugitives unite and then the fun begins�



The humour here comes from the way Oh!�s character is depicted (extremely friendly, always enthusiastic, and quite error prone � all very un-Boov like tendencies), Captain Smekday (quite eccentric, especially with his Shush-er, the tendency to ask for the �purple one� to stand out etc) and the various situations that Oh and Tip find themselves in�




It�s a fun film overall, about a misfit trying to find a way to make his mark and a young girl�s determination to find her family (an alien concept for the Boovs). There is nothing new, nothing dramatic that happens, no major message that stays but with some nice music, funny repartee and great dialogue delivery, this is one entertaining watch for the family