I am number 4

Science Fiction movies are genre which time and time have upheld their standards in most times, so when you place your money and time on them your most likely to be on the safer side when inside the cinema hall.But in rarest of circumstances you end up glancing at the door with the exit sign. It was in such a predicament that i found myself in "I am number four". This movie is another addition to the fact that most movies are nowhere close to been good as the books they are based on.

Here's a short synopsis four(error intended ;) you-
An extraordinary young man, John Smith, is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri, John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events -- his first love, powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.

The plot which promises to be as good as any X men movie or one which promises a sequel as we expect these Super Humans each numbered kinda excites you as it suggest a series ahead. But once inside the movie hall all you do is wait for someone to just arrive and finish off the main character in the movie as the Film lacks any kinda of drive, action or pull to keep you engaged throughout.The important thing when your trying to build a franchise movie is that you build a bond between the audience and the central character which the X men series did successfully with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine . John Smith rarely impresses and the female lead which i guess was intended to bring about a twilight kinda of scenario is rarely worth it and the villains are preposterous . So don't bother ,even if your an ardent Sci-Fi Fan.

Details-
Directed by D. J. Caruso
Produced by Michael Bay
Steven Spielberg
Chris Bender
J. C. Spink
David Valdes
Screenplay by Alfred Gough
Miles Millar
Marti Noxon
Based on I Am Number Four by
Pittacus Lore (Jobie Hughes & James Frey)
Starring Alex Pettyfer
Timothy Olyphant
Dianna Agron
Kevin Durand
Teresa Palmer
Callan McAuliffe
Jake Abel
Music by Trevor Rabin
Cinematography Guillermo Navarro
Editing by Vince Filippone
Jim Page
Studio Reliance BIG Entertainment
Bay Films
DreamWorks
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) February 18, 2011
Running time 114 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $50 million
Gross revenue $123,868,000

Audience recommended to-Really Jobless bums... and the occasional trapped Movie Buff
Theater seen from - Escape Cinemas, Chennai

Final word-
I am going for 1/5 for Dreamworks "I am number 4" . My advice , run away from that ticket counter while you can.

Red Riding Hood

Fairy tales, there's a funny twist to them isn't there . They are our favorites when we are growing up but once we reach a respectable age we show utter aversion to them in whatever form they might be. Thats one of the reasons why i was reluctant to watch Alice in wonderland even with Johnny Depp in it. But if you manage to bring a twist and a turn to an otherwise subtle and fairy plot of a fairy tale you might end up striking gold like The movie Tangled saw showed us earlier . So thats what exactly Catherine Hardwicke director of The Twilight movie did in new age adaptation of Red Riding Hood.

Here's a short synopsis to send you Riding into the movie-
For decades, the people of the village of Daggerhorn have maintained an uneasy truce with the werewolf, who prowls at every full moon, by offering the beast a monthly animal sacrifice to quench its appetite. But under a blood red moon, the wolf changes the stakes by taking the life of one of their own.

The victim is the older sister of Valerie, a beautiful, young woman, who has just found out that her parents have arranged for her to marry Henry, the scion of the town's wealthiest family. But Valerie wants only Peter, the poor woodcutter she has loved all her life. Unwilling to be parted, the couple was planning to run away together, but, in a horrifying instant, the wolf changes everything.

As the townspeople hunger for revenge, famed werewolf hunter Father Solomon is summoned to Daggerhorn to kill the beast once and for all. But Solomon's arrival brings only more turmoil as he warns everyone that the werewolf takes human form by day and could be any one of them. No one is above suspicion. Panic grips the town as the death toll rises with each red moon, tearing apart the once close-knit village. But it is Valerie who discovers she has a unique connection to the wolf that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect... and bait.

The movie probably appealed to me more than it should be cause i went in with my very low expectations and also maybe that i have a weakness for werewolf movies. At first i didnt even think there would be an actual werewolf but more of a serial killer. But (spoiler alert) there is an actual werewolf and a very mean one too, so this one's good for your money. With a deep background score and an exciting quest of trying to guess which of the villagers might be the actual werewolf keep you engaged throughout the movie . I personally loved the way the movie ended, the way every fairy tale should in happily ever after but in a very weird and dark sense of way.

Details-
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio
Jennifer Davisson Killoran
Julie Yorn
Written by David Leslie Johnson
Starring Amanda Seyfried
Gary Oldman
Billy Burke
Shiloh Fernandez
Max Irons
Virginia Madsen
Lukas Haas
Julie Christie
Music by Brian Reitzell
Alex Heffes
Cinematography Mandy Walker
Studio Appian Way Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) March 11, 2011
Running time 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $42 million
Gross revenue $32,043,889

Theater seen from- Escape Cinemas, Chennai
Audience Recommended to- Couples mainly and also twilight fans and the occasional bored movie buff

Final word-
I am going for 2.5/5 for Warner Bros. Red Riding Hood cause it manages to take the fairy-ness out of the fairy tale and still ends up been worthwhile .

Hall Pass

The ever perennial question of why comedy and sex go together so well .Well one of the reasons maybe that sex is so well hidden in our society , its nice to see certain people use it as a means of breaking the ice on the issue or the fact that sexual jokes have a sense of thrill and mischief when you crack them. Whatever be the reason , they are quite good fodder to keep the cinema halls as the series of american pie movies have demonstrated till now. But after sometime , such movies just became a sleaze fest losing their bearings from epic movies such as Euro Trip which epitomized the sleaze comedy Genre . Most sequels ended up been a far-cry from their originals.So now that brings us to Hall pass , another sure to thrill you sleaze comic movie starring owen wilson.

Here's a short synopsis to pass your time-
Rick(wilson) and Fred are best friends who have a lot in common, including the fact that they have each been married for many years. But when the two men begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives take a bold approach to revitalizing their marriages: granting them a "hall pass," one week of freedom to do whatever they want... no questions asked. At first, it sounds like a dream come true for Rick and Fred. But it isn't long before they discover that their expectations of the single life--and themselves--are completely, and hilariously, out of sync with reality.

Here's why i think hall pass has got what it takes to be a winner-
1. Its the exact oppsite of a chick flic , its a dude comedy, a one to enjoy with the Bubs
2. It combines the humour of movies like hangover into an american pie style storyline
3. Maintains the perfect sleaze ratio, eye candy with the right amount of storyline and morals
4. Pure entertainer and relaxing time pass at the best like Grown Ups

so now you know what my 4 reasons were to put hall pass on my checklist . I wouldnt recommend watching it with your parents or you nieces/nephews but other than that a great movie to catch alone, with your buds or your Girlfriend/soul-mate.

Details-
Directed by Bobby & Peter Farrelly
Produced by Charles B. Wessler
Bradley Thomas
Benjamin Waisbren
Written by Bobby & Peter Farrelly
Pete Jones
Kevin Barnett
Starring Owen Wilson
Jason Sudeikis
Stephen Merchant
Jenna Fischer
Christina Applegate
Studio Virtual Studios
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 25, 2011
Country United States
Language English
Budget $36 million
Gross revenue US $47,777,779

Theater seen from- Escape Cinemas, Chennai
Audience recommended to- The Dudes, The Gangs and the one with the ladies.

Final word-
I am going for 3/5 for this sleaze fest comedy which manages to reignite the once lost Genre.

Morning Glory

There are some movies or in most cases a lot of great movies that just slip under the belt and are left unseen by most audiences cause they lack either the necessary promotion or they are timed badly along with other huge Budget movies.One of that kind of a movie is Morning Glory.Like i mentioned earlier my persuasive weakness for romantic comedies brought me to Morning Glory.But unlike the other Great romantic comedies this one was quite different.

Here's a short synopsis to wake you upto morning Glory-
When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at "Daybreak" (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy. Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts - let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck, a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who is more than happy covering morning "news." As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky's blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett begins to unravel - and soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, her job and ultimately, the show itself.

Becky played by Rachael McAdams is the main driving force behind the movie and turns out to be the inspiring female lead just like her character in the movie. The surprise in the movie is the presence of Harrison Ford , our dear little old Indy or han solo or even the president , but here in this movie we see Ford playing a shrewd , irritated and highly successful new reporter something like Larry king been forced to come down to meagre show like a morning new program called Morning glory. At first he's the worst charcter in the movie but at the end of the movie , Mr Ford just steals the show with his amazing Frittata ( something you will find out if you watch the movie).Morning Glory is not meant for the high octane evening watch but its meant for the lazy sunday afternoon watch preferably with your wife or your girlfriend.A quite predictable story line but somewhat sweet movie in a nice package.

Details-
Directed by Roger Michell
Produced by J. J. Abrams
Bryan Burk
Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Starring Rachel McAdams
Harrison Ford
Diane Keaton
Patrick Wilson
Ty Burrell
Jeff Goldblum
Music by David Arnold
Cinematography Alwin H. Kuchler
Editing by Dan Farrell
Nick Moore
Steven Weisberg
Studio Bad Robot Productions
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) November 10, 2010
Running time 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million
Gross revenue $51,099,386

Audience recommended to- Feminists, Ladies looking for inspiration and a job and guys who love romantic comedies.

Final word-
I am going for 2.5/5 for Paramount pictures Morning Glory . Its a Chick flick which can be enjoyed by also the Guys.

TRON:Legacy

Video games , movies and gadgets are a man's best friend(forget dogs when you live in the era of the aibo ;).... Well combine all of these and you should get a kick ass movie right.But sometimes the mixture of ingredients don't match up and ends up making a terrible concoction such as movies like Resident evil 3 and house of the dead. Movies based on video games have always been around classics such as mortal kombat and street fighter and then there's the Dumps such as Dragon Ball Z and DOOM. So TRON is a movie whose story is based on life within a video game, where users go into the Game. TRON legacy is the sequel to higly appreciated movie that was TRON.

Here's a small synopsis of the first movie(1982) for those you who weren't even born at that time-
A video game designer trying to prove a big time executive stole his idea is sucked into a corporation's mainframe where programs are personified counterparts of their writers and "users" are subjects of religious faith. A well-crafted and scripted metaphor, TRON benefits from breakthrough computer animation.Jeff Bridges amazingly appears in both movies as kevin flynn and Clu .

Here's a synopsis of the sequel that is the legacy of tron -
Sam Flynn, a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn, a man once known as the world's leading video-game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn's Arcade -- a signal that could only come from his father -- he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe -- a universe created by Kevin himself that has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons, landscapes and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.

So now you know the backdrop of Tron , it goes without saying this is one cool movie, lots of graphical environment, a compelling soundtrack and great background story makes sure that tron is every guys weekend blockbuster especially for the super nerd. Sure to some Tron might seem like a kiddish movie with all the light shaped discs and light cycles (bikes which leave behind a trail of destructive light) , but hey wasn't another certain franchise used the similar gimmicks by TRON to captivate audiences for decades AKA the STAR WARS . So i think we should overlook all its immaturity and learn to enjoy the awesomeness that is TRON.

Details-
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Produced by Sean Bailey
Jeffrey Silver
Steven Lisberger
Screenplay by Adam Horowitz
Edward Kitsis
Story by Adam Horowitz
Edward Kitsis
Brian Klugman
Lee Sternthal
Based on Characters by
Steven Lisberger
Bonnie MacBird
Starring Jeff Bridges
Garrett Hedlund
Bruce Boxleitner
Olivia Wilde
Michael Sheen
James Frain
Beau Garrett
Music by Daft Punk
Cinematography Claudio Miranda
Editing by James Haygood
Studio LivePlanet
Sean Bailey Productions
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s) December 17, 2010
Running time 127 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $170 million
Gross revenue $397,090,201

Audience recommended to-All sci-fi nerds, total Dude movie alert and the kids of all ages.

Final word-
I am going for 3/5 for Walt disney's TRON:Legacy cause any movie inspiring enough to come out with an Ipod dock by its name has to have look .Long live the nerd revolution and please when you watch this movie , watch it with a mind of a child you were once and be awed by the perfection of the Grid.

Battle: Los Angeles

2012,Independence day,Armageddon,Deep Impact,The day after tomorrow,I am legend and the list goes on , movies which portray the will power of man and his ever lasting fight for survival against an external agent either an alien , zombie or even nature in certain scenarios. These movies even though might have that predictable cliche ending but with a right mix of CGI and soundtrack and that timely inspiring speech always makes it up for all the sufferance in the plot. Then there's movies like Skyline, war of the worlds and AVP2 which just take the same plot and leaves it in Dire straits . So when Battle: LA came out with its high octane trailer , i had to see which way the coin would fall especially with Aaron Eckhart leading the team.

Here's a short synopsis to battle with-
For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world -- Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.

So now you know the plot and i hope you have seen the trailer , so here' what i suggest , do no more . Yes thats right Dont even think about going out with your best buds to your nearest multiplex to catch this Bummer of a movie . Sure it promises a lot but lets just say it kills the movie buff in you. Here's one action movie where you literally beg the director to bring some sense of conflict and use of CGI to bring out the glory that is idea of Alien invasion. Aaron Eckhart's Brilliance is wasted by the director by placing the all time favorite mankind inspiring speech right when they see their entire base destroyed and all hope is lost and a band of 7 marines have to save L.A . The same group who cant even protect 7 civilians they are assigned to. Even the penultimate scenes of glory produce more smirks than inspiration. The turn of tides in battle especially reminded me of Tom Clancy's novels where no matter what the Odds , America would always win. I was hoping for a District , kind of a movie but ended up getting another Skyline from this outing.
Details-
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Produced by Jeffrey Chernov
Neal H. Moritz
Ori Marmur
Written by Christopher Bertolini
Starring Aaron Eckhart
Michelle Rodriguez
Will Rothhaar
Ramón Rodríguez
Bridget Moynahan
Ne-Yo
James Hiroyuki Liao
Michael Peña
Music by Brian Tyler
Cinematography Lukas Ettlin
Editing by Christian Wagner
Studio Relativity Media
Original Film[1]
Distributed by Columbia Pictures[1]
Release date(s) March 11, 2011 (2011-03-11)
Running time 116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $70 million

Theater seen from- Crown theater , Calicut
Audience recommended to- Really jobless people on the weekend. Sci fi nerds and people who saw the trailer and cant resist and Believers of the alien invasion theory.

Final Word-
I am going for 1.5/5 for Columbia Pictures Battle:Los Angeles , all i have to say that this movie is Black hawk Down meets Skyline and that too in a bad way.

Return of the Blogger- Love and other Drugs

Movies based on novels can be great, they might be fictional such as Jurassic park or even fairy tales such as Alice in wonderland. But when somebody makes a romantic comedy based on a novel , you have to take a peek into what the director will have to offer and am not talking about mushy romantic movies like twilight. So Love and other Drugs based on the book-Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman(yes its about the wonder drug) by Jamie Reidy was definelty on my checklist especially since it starred the beautiful Anne Hathaway.

Here's a short synopsis to get you drugged with-
Maggie is an alluring free spirit who won't let anything, including a formidable personal challenge, tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie Randall, whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie's evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love.

Maggie played by Anne Hathaway is a chronic patient suffering from Parkinson's Disorder and Jamie played by Jake Gyllenhaal (the Guy from prince of Persia) is hard core Drug salesman . The movie tells us the tale of Maggie's struggle with the disease and Jamie's ambition to make it to the top league . The Movie manages to capture the emotions of the partially disabled and frustrated Anne Hathaway beautifully or also as they joked about at the Oscars , she's the naked girl from Love and other Drugs(YES she is fully naked in this picture , warning Do not watch with parents or kids cause you might face really awkward questions later on in both cases). This is one love story or movie you want to take that special Girl out for a date for , cause i can guarantee you this once this movie is done she will be all Hugs.Also for all the Anne Hathaway fans she's also starring in the sequel to The Dark Knight titled The Dark Knight Rises(Giving you more reasons to love her;)

Details-
Directed by Edward Zwick
Produced by Edward Zwick
Scott Stuber
Marshall Herskovitz
Charles Randolph
Pieter Jan Brugge
Screenplay by Edward Zwick
Charles Randolph
Marshall Herskovitz
Based on Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by
Jamie Reidy
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Anne Hathaway
Josh Gad
Hank Azaria
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Steven Fierberg
Editing by Steven Rosenblum
Studio Regency Enterprises
New Regency
Stuber Pictures
Bedford Falls
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) November 24, 2010
Running time 112 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million[
Gross revenue $93,567,005

Audience recommended to - All the lovely couples out there.

Final word-
I am going for 3/5 for 20th Century Fox Love and other drugs cause this one is a heart touching movie which truly makes you believe in the power of love ( Am i been too mushy, go see the movie and you'll know why :)