Undisputed(2000)

2.5/5

it is very difficult to sustain interest in a movie wherein you have a fair inkling about the denouement beforehand. Undisputed is one such movie. 5 minutes into the movie, one can actually accurately guess what the end would be like. However, credit goes to the director of the movie that he does not allow the interest of the viewer to sag throughout its run time of nearly 85 minutes. There is Ving Rhames, a character obviously based on Mike Tyson, who is the world heavyweight champion but has been sentenced to the prison under accusation of rape. His contender is played by Wesley Snipes in one of his more restrained roles here. Snipes is the undefeated champion of the prison boxing matches. Rhames is arrogant and a total bully. Snipes has the concentration of a Zen master and is cooler than cucumber. Who will win? The movie is interspersed with many action sequences. The problem lies with Rhames who does not look like a boxing champ and obviously a cliched story. there are the mandatory side characters but they have two bit role and they fail to impress. The final match is done pretty well but falls short of the iconic scenes of the Rocky franchise. The sequels are rated higher. Will definitely watch them soon.

After the Wedding(2006)

3/5

A Danish manager of an orphanage in India goes back home to find the funds for his project. There he discovers a truth which changes his live and that of others around him. This was nominated in the best foreign movie category in 2007 wherein it lost to the Counterfeiters, a much superior film. The film is well made and brilliantly acted. But the script does not offer anything shattering which is what its synopsis on IMDb promises. The viewers of Hindi movies have seen countless films like this although the story hasn't been lifted so far to make an "inspired" copy. There is only one scene wherein one of the lead characters reacts about their impending death which has not been used by Hindi cinema. Here, everybody becomes stoic and heroic after learning about their impending death. There, people shout and question about the logic of it all. 3 out of 5 for this. the pacing of the movie is appropriate and it never drags along. It is the very content itself which does not offer anything new to chew on.

Earthlings(2005)

4/5

It took me 3 days to finish watching this. Haven't seen a more harrowing documentary. This actually goes on to prove that humans are the most cruel of all animals on this planet. The documentary talks about animals in five different parts. They are shown as pets, as a source of food, entertainment, clothes and experimental subjects. The tortures which the animals are subjected to and the different manners of killing them are shown in their full brutality. Many of the scenes are more disturbing than any of the movies which contain so called graphic scenes. The viewer will be appalled and horrified as to what these animals are subjected to. Just closing our eyes and thinking that the animals are treated humanely before they are dispatched to the other world is naive. watch this and prepare to be blown literally.

Dead Calm(1988)

2/5

this commits the cardinal sin for a thriller. it is borrowing in parts and allows the viewer's mind to drift in the open seas. A husband and wife have lost their only child. to rekindle the warmth in their relation and to get over the loss, they decide to go on cruise. they are far out in the water with no one for miles when they encounter a young man on a dinghy who tells them a story about his escape from a sinking boat. but nothing is what it seems. Nicole Kidman is breathtakingly beautiful in one of her earlier appearances. Sam Neill as her husband spends most of the movie trying to make the boats work. the biggest letdown is Billy Zane as the troubled young man who is supposed to be disturbing but ends up looking pathetic. another over rated movie on IMDb. Skip it if you are unfortunate enough to come across this.

Borderland(2007)

1.5/5

This movie is meant only for the mentally disturbed. I went for the movie knowing its story line and expecting no Academy stuff. I knew this was a movie where the omnipresent American hitchhikers encounter a "human-sacrificing cult". I knew there was going to be gore and cheap thrills. What i didn't knew was how boring it would all be. Three friends go to Mexico to do the "usual" things: get high, get laid. but one of them is kidnapped by the aforementioned cult because the head honcho of the cult believes that Satan would be pleased if they sacrifice some one after torturing the poor soul. the pleased Satan would enable their drugs to pass into the United States by making the drugs invisible to the custom officers. I mean, what the f**k where the script writers thinking? this must be the lamest excuse for the gore. As for the gore and blood, the best sequence which is truly hair raising is one in which one of the friends is chased through the length of the hotel in which he is staying by a machete wielding mob. The rest of the scenes are just pathetic. The director tries to give some back story so that we can "connect and identify" with the lame ass characters. but they still come across as clichéd. So kindly watch something else. Anything as long as it is not Borderland. For the lovers of violence, there still is no movie better than Martyrs. This pretentious sh*t is just that. a pretender. nothing more.

3-iron(2004)

4/5

rarely does a romantic movie leave you with a hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach. this other worldly experience directed by Ki-duk Kim is "shockingly brilliant". the story is original and frugal with no words exchanged between the leads. the intensity of love,longing is conveyed merely by slight movements.the actors are stunning in their parts. the soundtrack is haunting and the ending memorable. Would be comparing movies i watch for some time with this. made my day. 4 out of 5 for this mesmerizer from the director of the epic spring,summer...spring. a very special movie which should be watched with your special one.

Big Trouble in Little China(1986)

1.5/5

i have been John Carpenter's fan right from the time i saw the original "the thing". then came "halloween", "in the mouth of madness" and "assault on precinct 13" which are all mini (some may see B grade) classics. but then today i saw this and i couldn't believe my eyes. Carpenter must have been stoned beyond belief when he decided to direct this pile of crap. bad music, non existent screenplay, tardy action and tacky special effects. soured my morning, turned it into a mourning. couldn't even finish it. had to stop when 20 minutes "action" was still left. Totally disappointing. Skip it if you have something even remotely better.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1(2012)

3.5/5

Bruce Wayne is 55 years old and Batman hasn't fought crime for over ten years. Commissioner Gordon is 70 and is in his last month of service before retiring. Harvey Dent has been "repaired" by the plastic surgeons and now the two sides of his face match. A new breed of criminals called the Mutants are holding the city to ransom. Will Bruce wear the cape again? Will the Dark Knight return? This is an above average animation movie built on these intriguing premises. The animation is definitely not in the league of Pixar or even Dreamworks for that matter but still the characters are so close to my heart that i felt in the grip of the narrative. The scenes which mark the return of Batman will raise goosebumps because of the background score. This is something which fans of Batman should definitely check out. 3.5 out of 5. Now bring on the second part ASAP.

Bananas(1971)

3.5/5

Woody Allen is at the top of his wackiness here as a product tester who after being dumped by his activist girl friend goes over to a South American country, joins the rebels and ends up becoming the president. the starting scene which is a live assassination and the end scene which shows the live broadcast of Allen's honeymoon night is side splitting. there is a one minute un-credited cameo by Sylvester Stallone as a tough guy who roughs up Allen in a train. the farcical situations are numerous and the satire in Allen comes to the fore in the marvelous court scene where he is gagged and bound and then goes on to tear the witness apart. this is vintage Allen and his fans would rejoice seeing this early work as the hand of the master satirist is clearly visible.

Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?(1980)

4/5

Directed by the creator of the rags to riches story "raju ban gaya gentleman" and the excellent tongue-in-cheek comedy "Yes Boss" this is a superlative movie about the life of the Indian lower middle class of the late 70s. The angst, the issues are portrayed in a poignant manner. The acting is memorable with Naseerudin Shah as the titular character overshadowing everybody else. There are also other great actors like Om Puri in a two bit role, Satish Shah in a small but effective role as a local ruffian, Smita Patil as the handicapped sister of Albert(absolutely intense performance) and above them, Shabana Azmi as the girlfriend of Albert who has to bear his tantrums and face his insecurities regarding her. The movie plays on the backdrop of the Mumbai Cloth Mill strike. It perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 70s like Dev D. did for the the first decade of the millennium. A must watch for every lover of good cinema. This is one movie which Indians should be proud of. The technical details could have been better but it has its heart in the right place. A shame that no channel carries such socially relevant movies any more.

Act of Valor(2012)

2.5/5

it has been some time since i saw this genre of cinema, the ones where the good guys are so perfect that they may shame God and the bad guys are devil incarnate. But then that is to be expected if one is seeing a movie about the protectors of the freedom and guardians against terror. so here we have some real life navy SEALs acting in the movie which is supposedly based on "real" incidents which predictably involve some Al Qaeda and old school Russian rogues. the story and characters are as clichéd as they get. where the movie scores is in its intense action scenes which are shot beautifully and are as real as they come. the death count is phenomenally high for the bad guys while the SEALs are predictably bullet proof. could have been much better but then in hindsight could have been much worse also. catch it on cable TV.