Muppets Most Wanted - Hollywood Movie Review

Muppets Most Wanted

Story: The Muppets take their show on the road, this time in Europe, with a tour visiting Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. However, Kermit is replaced by an evil impersonator called Constantine who plans to use the Muppets roadshow as a front for a heist.

Review: Almost every Muppet you might or might not have seen on TV as a kid features in this caper. The Muppets realize that they need to step up their stage act if they are to give their careers a shot in the arm and in order to do so, they must go on a tour. They are persuaded to hire a shifty character called Dominic Badguy (Gervais) who will provide his services as road manager for the group.

What the furry fellows don't realize is that Dominic has his own long-term plans for the job. His first step is to get the real Kermit (Whitmire) kicked off to the Siberian gulag and install Constantine (Vogel) in Kermit's place. None of the Muppets suspect the switch, even if Constantine speaks in an accent that's decidedly more Ukraine than Utah.

Meanwhile in Siberia, Kermit's prison is
presided over by a rather fetching looking warden called Nadya (Fey) who rules over the prison with the proverbial iron fist but it seems, has a soft spot for Kermit. Back on the train travelling through Europe, Constantine and Badguy go about their plan to rob the Crown Jewels. It is only Miss Piggy (Jacobson) and Animal (Jacobson again) who suspect that their leader's mannerisms have changed somewhat. Will they be able to tell the faux Kermit from the real deal? The rudderless Muppets are allowed to do what they want by Constantine even as things spiral into chaos.

There are cameos aplenty in this fun film. People as unlikely as Tom Hiddleston and Ray Liotta (both gulag inmates) to some hip names in Hip Hop (Combs) and R&B (Usher) put in appeareances. And the song sequences are both fun and wacky - two words that sum up this film.

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Need For Speed - Hollywood Movie Review

Need For Speed

Story: Tobey Marshall (Paul) and friends are struggling to keep their garage business from going broke. He reluctantly accepts an offer from wealthy ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Cooper) to soup up a Ford Mustang for a big price. However, Tobey soon finds himself in a race that's about revenge as well as redemption.

Review: Aaron Paul's (of Breaking Bad fame) character Tobey is loosely reminiscent of Ryan Gosling's look in 'Drive', minus the gore. He speaks very little and prefers to put the pedal to the metal. His friends Maverick (Mescudi), Joe Peck (Rodriguez), Pete (Gilbertson), Finn (Malek) and him make a living by modifying and racing muscle cars. But the money's barely enough, so when Paul's former rival Dino pays them a visit, he offers Tobey 25% to trick out the Mustang, valued at $2million.

While Tobey's pals are incredulous about the idea, he is more pragmatic and accepts, knowing that the money could really come in handy for the garage. They do the modification so well that an exotic cars investor called Julia Maddon (Poots), whom they meet at a party, is impressed and says she'd buy it for $3 million if it can exceed 230 mph. When the car clocks 234 mph, the deal is done.

But simmering tensions betw
een suave bad boy Dino and righteous Tobey come to a head during a race when Dino, Pete and Tobey race three illegally imported Koenigsegg Agera supercars. Tobey is double crossed by Dino and the former ends up serving a two-year prison sentence. When Tobey leaves the slammer, all he desires is vengeance - preferably on a racetrack and in fourth gear.

The setting for this 'battle royale' is the big ticket De Leon race organized by a reclusive individual called Monarch (Keaton). Although light on plot and performances, the film delivers exactly what it promises. Devoid of CGI, the races you see are real and the stunts, really well done. Apart from Paul's promising performance, it's the supercharged cars that tear up the asphalt and steal the show in this one.

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3 Days to Kill - Hollywood Movie Review

3 Days to Kill

Story: CIA agent Ethan Renner (Costner) wants to retire and reconnect with his wife Christine (Nielsen) and daughter Zoey (Steinfeld). Before he can, he is tasked with one final dangerous mission.

Review: McG has many music videos as well as films like Terminator: Salvation and Charlie's Angels Full Throttle to his credit. Here, he ropes in Costner for a surprisingly fun flick, written by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak. The film manages to combine elements of camp with a vamp CIA assassin called Vivi Delay (Heard), father-daughter bonding, teenage angst, humour and car chases down cobbled streets and Parisian pavements.

Renner finds out that he has terminal cancer one day. Faced with this eventuality, he moves back to Paris where his wife and daughter live, to spend some quality time with them. His Parisian apartment, however, is inhabited by a family of African squatters. So, he has no choice but to move in with Christine till the squatters move out after a stipulated time.

While Renner tries to get reacquainted with Zoey, V
ivi tracks him down near a market one afternoon, and makes him an offer he can't refuse - nab a dangerous arms trafficker called The Wolf (Sammel) and his lieutenant called The Albino (Lemarquis). In return, she offers him the elixir of life - a potion delivered in a syringe which looks like it was nicked from a kid's chemistry set.

Combining a catwoman bodysuit with over-the-top innuendoes - suggestively straddling his lap while injecting him with the medicine, lascivious movements, puns about making him feel good - these aren't the only things that make Renner's heart race. The medicine too gets his heartbeat up and Vivi tells him that generous slugs of vodka are the antidote to that. The villains look like stock Cold War era villains handpicked from the 70s. It all leads to a showdown between Renner and The Wolf at the unlikeliest of events.

Lighthearted while managing to mix a torture scene with a recipe for spaghetti sauce, the film's myriad elements come together with a deft touch, without losing the plot.

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Battle of the Damned - Hollywood Movie Review

Battle of the Damned

Story: A contagion released in a test facility has turned everyone save a handful of survivors into zombie-like creatures. Major Max Gatling (Lundgren) and his group are recruited to perform a rescue operation, deep in this zombie territory, and try to make it out alive.

Review: Sometime in the future, Southeast Asia becomes a hotbed for pharma companies to go wild with drug experimentation, the laws be damned. After the zombie contagion spreads, an isolated city is ostensibly quarantined by gun-toting guards and the meat-craving zombie/cannibals are fenced in.

However, the daughter (Jude, played by Zanetti) of a wealthy individual is trapped in this dead city of the damned and so, Gatling is hired to give the guards the slip and go rescue her. And that's pretty much the basis for the movie. One of the first among many plot holes you will wonder about is how Gatling is a military rank despite clearly being a mercenary. Does he have a backstory?

That aside, the street battles are what this movie is all about, with various gunfights and gore being the mainstay of this movie's action. The post-apocalyptic vibe is unabashedly campy. But while these may just be the two best things about the movie, dodgy dialogues between Gatling

and Jude (when he does eventually find her), dog the proceedings. You'll wish they'd stop the pretense of a script and just fired their guns and blown up more of the zombie/cannibals instead.

And there's another unexplained element - rather inexplicably, robots that look like they've been made by scientists who rummaged an electronics scrap yard. It turns out that they've been protecting the humans in the city. Gatling manages to get the bots to help him too. The special effects aren't a talking point and though Lundgren is no Stallone or Schwarzenegger, it is puzzling to see him in a questionable movie like this. On the positive side, the film is about as literal as it gets, which is Dolph Lundgren shooting things, zombies and robots along with a lot of randomness.

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300: Rise of an Empire - Hollywood Movie Review

300: Rise of an Empire

Story: The invading Persian forces led by the god-like Xerxes and navy commander Artemisia battle the Greeks (led by Themistocles) in the hope of conquering the land. With the odds against him, Themistocles must use guile and strength in equal measure to save Greece from destruction. 

Review: While the first 300 movie dealt with Leonidas and the events at Thermopylae, here the focus shifts to the equally furious sea battle, fought on dark, choppy waters. King Xerxes (Santoro) and Queen Gorgo of Sparta (Headey) face off, with their respective commanders Artemisia (Green) and Themistocles (Stapleton) leading their navies. Although the previous movie is referenced in the gorgeous opening shot, the battle then rides on Themistocles' able shoulders.

Artemisia is a determined commander, who doesn't think much of her adversaries, clad in sandals and capes. Indeed, the Persian navy splinters the Greek galleys, until they come up against Themistocles. Artemisia realises that she has an equal in strategy and cunning, against whom overwhelming force and superior numbers alone won't work.

Themistocles, although lacking the crazed blood-lust that drove Leonidas, is weary of war. Yet, he knows that each of them would ha
ve to, if need be, make the ultimate sacrifice to save 'Mother Greece'. He shows his resolve when mustering the Greek forces with lines like, "We choose to die on our feet rather than live on our knees!" But is he immune to Artemisia's female charms or will those prove to be his Achilles heel?

Xerxes himself, looking like he has emerged from a gold bath and resplendent in various piercings, is relegated to a few booming sentences. The blood and gore is off the scale; warriors are hacked and cleaved in glorious CGI detail. Part-vamp and part-warrior princess in leather, Green is stunning as Artemisia. The film itself looks fantastic, awash in a red-sepia tone that dominates everything. Although you will have seen many action films set during a point of time in history (this one's set in 480 BC), there is plenty in here to keep your attention from start to finish.

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August: Osage County - Hollywood Movie Review

August: Osage County

Story: A gripping melodrama about the lives of the Westons, who gravitate back to their Oklahoma hometown, the film is about the interpersonal relationships of this family during a crisis situation.

Review: An old country house sets the scene for the proceedings in this movie, where Violet Weston (Streep) raised her three daughters - the aggressive Barbara (Roberts), the meek Ivy (Nicholson) and the flirty Karen (Lewis). Violet's husband Beverly (Shepard) is an aging poet. Barbara has a pill addiction and is in the early stages of mouth cancer. One sweltering day, Beverly goes missing-presumed-dead. Distraught, Violet calls her sister Mattie Fae (Matindale) and brother-in-law Charles Aiken (Cooper) as well as her daughters. The three sisters arrive. Ivy is single but Karen brings her latest boyfriend Steve (Mulroney) and Barbara gets estranged hubbie Bill (McGregor). Although no one knows that they're estranged.

A few days pass, after which the county sheriff shows up with the bad news: Beverly's body has been found in the bottom of a lake. After the body is correctly identified by Violet, the family find themselves having to deal with each other in a way that most of them seem unprepared to do. What follows is a series of interactions between family members
that takes the term 'family drama' to a new level. The sleazy Steve, for example, tries to get into Barbara and Bill's 14-year-old daughter Jean's (Breslin) pants. Ivy tells Barbara that she secretly is in love with Little Charles (Cumberbatch, playing Mattie's son).

The film is full of angry exchanges and confrontations, mostly between the drugged-up Violet and Barbara, who gives as good as she gets. At regular intervals, various crazy secrets of the family emerge. Streep stands out as the unbalanced matriarch. Roberts too is someone to watch out for. In fact, there's not one weak link in the portrayals of this train-wreck of a family.

The music by Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel) helps add to the dramatic tension in the film, generously laced as it is with dark humour and plot twists aplenty.

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Mr. Peabody & Sherman 3D - Hollywood Movie Review

Mr. Peabody & Sherman 3D

Story: A clever dog adopts a cute boy. Together they time-travel to experience history! Their adventures coupled with the unusual father-son bonding comprise the story.

Review: Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) is a super-intelligent dog who is way too smart for people to adopt him. Sadly, his sharp mind and sarcasm render him lonely. If you follow The Big Bang Theory, you'll identify Mr Peabody with Sheldon Cooper.

The dog puts his intelligence to noble use and becomes a 'Nobel Prize-winning' scientist who owns a swanky duplex in New York and invents a time-travelling machine. He adopts a young boy Sherman (Max Charles) in order to give the latter something he never had while growing up - a home. Just like his father, Sherman too is a geek who gets bullied by Penny (Ariel Winter) at school for 'knowing too much'.

In spite of being forbidden to enter the time machine without daddy's permission, in order to impress Penny, Sherman grants her access to it. All hell breaks loose when Penny gets transported to ancient Egypt through it. Can the boys get her back to the present day?

With its unconventional 'dog adopting a boy' st
ory, sweet humour and cutesy characters, the film is likeable and manages to make you smile throughout. While it begins beautifully and has its unique novel moments, the second half is moderately funny and succumbs to predictability. The adventures with historical figures too get a tad unimaginative as the story proceeds. The focus shifts from the father-son bonding to Sherman-Penny camaraderie, making the film seem formulaic.

Nonetheless, kids are bound to love the characters and their wacky antics. We particularly liked the funny imitation of Greek king Agamemnon and twist to the Trojan horse episode. Gandhi and his peace-loving persona are featured too. Mona Lisa's banter, with her celebrated painter Leonardo da Vinci, is hilarious. At heart, the film looks at history with a bout of fun.

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Walking with Dinosaurs 3D - Hollywood Movie Review

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D

After a human live-action prelude, the film gets down to business. Young dinosaur Patchi the Pachyrhinosaurus, his family and friends have to deal with various challenges that the prehistoric environment and its creatures present them as they migrate South for the winter.

There's also a side helping of romance when Alex falls for female dinosaur Juniper (Sircar). He also has a rivalry with the aptly-titled Scowler (Stone), who is his brother. Additionally, there's Alex (Leguizamo), a time-travelling raven with the extensive vocabulary of an English professor. He provides wisdom and banter in more or less equal measure while perched on Patchi as the latter lives and learns life's lessons each day.

In this sense, Patchi's journey, of getting enough experience and maturity before being able to take on the world, is somewhat reminiscent of The Lion King. The best part about this film is the animation. The various dinosaurs are very nicely rendered with every contour and details of skin and scale being rendered well enough to keep kids entertained with their realism. The live action scenery looks properly prehistoric.

However, the biggest letdown is the wafer-thin plot and some silly dialogues marring an otherwise decent story. Alex the raven's lines get a bit annoying after a point, making you wish you had a mute button. For a film where so much effort has been put into making the CGI effects look good, a similar amount of emphasis and im
portance haven't been devoted to dialogues. The moments of wit in the script are few and far between. The odd thing is that despite being in a prehistoric setting, there are many modern references made.

Partly based on the BBC's 1999 TV documentary mini-series bearing the same name, the only thing that works best for this film is the successful melding of CGI dinosaurs in live-action (from Alaska to New Zealand) landscape settings.

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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Hollywood Movie Review

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

While its predecessor had more emotional impact, this second helping of Cloudy... is more adventurous and fun, while losing precious little of the overall charm of the characters and location.

Flint's earlier invention of a machine that turned water to food was of great benefit to the people of Swallow Falls as it created a smorgasbord of free grub for the townsfolk to chow down on. While Flint, his father Tim (Caan) and his buddies Sam (Faris), Brent (Samberg) and Steve (Harris) had been living elsewhere, they have to now return to their old town. This is because Flint's old machine has become self-aware and started creating a glut of hilariously-titled 'foodimals' - living creatures made out of various food items with portmanteau names like 'shrimpanzees', 'watermelephants', 'double bacon cheespider' and 'tacodiles'.

Flint now gets recruited by Chester, who apparently wants to save Swallow Falls. And as frantic Flint finds himself both inspired and driven by Chester, his newfound success makes him more socially acceptable and he drifts further away from the grounding effect of his old buddies. There are a few smaller subplots too, but apart from creatively-titled names and a hallucinogenic landscape, Cameron and Pearn keep the narrative tight and in focus without rambling all over the place.

While kids will enjoy the jokes, there are sight gags galore to give adults a good guffaw or three. Generously laden with a buffet of food puns and savoury set locations, this is a film filled with gorgeous,
vivid animation and no-holds-barred creativity. With plenty of 'tasty' surprises, the umpteen food references make it as much a gustatory delight as it is uplifting.

Note: You may not like this film if you don't like animation.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Hollywood Movie Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Gandalf (McKellen) meets Thorin Oakenshield (Armitage) in the city of Bree and persuades him to pursue his destiny - reclaiming the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor and take the throne. For that, he needs a precious stone hidden in a mountain guarded by a dragon called Smaug (voice: Cumberbatch). He sets out on this quest with Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) and a group of Dwarves.

After Gandalf the wizard convinces Thorin that he needs to embark on the journey, a motley group is assembled, which includes the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Baggins the burglar is the only one with the skill and guile necessary to steal the gem that Thorin needs to reclaim the kingdom - the Arkenstone. However, Baggins does have his own secrets from Gandalf and the gang.

So, they set out on the task, with many stops along the way. For example, at Mirkwood, they encounter giant spiders. They are imprisoned by the Elvenking, Thranduil (Lee Pace). They encounter Orcs and more...

In order to keep the film from dragging, Jackson introduces characters at key points, which keeps the momentum flowing. The return of the dashing Legolas is a welcome one, for he is fantastic. His skill as an archer has never been better, and in battle, he makes pincushions out of hi
s adversaries. The only chink in the armour is the romance track between Tauriel (Evangeline) and Kili (Turner) which is only distracting.

Cumberbatch's deeply sonorous voice gives Smaug a new dimension of malevolence. While the previous instalment of this trilogy was a little slow and low on action, Jackson has now ensured that you'll be transported to another land filled with magic, wonder, danger, mystery and more.

The film is supremely accessible and enjoyable, even if you who haven't read Tolkien. And surprisingly enough, to keep things from getting heavy, there are more than a few laugh-aloud moments courtesy the Dwarves. This one's a packed-to-the-gills entertainer from start to finish.

Note: You may not like this film if you don't like action fantasy.

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Old Boy - Hollywood Movie Review

Old Boy

After being held captive in a room for 20 years, Joe Doucett (Brolin) sets out on an obsessive journey of violent revenge against his anonymous captor. What also keeps him going is the need to make amends with his estranged daughter.

Joe embodies just about every offensive trait that an absentee dad who is an alcoholic and a lecherous womanizer, can have. He begins his work day with a fifth of vodka, injects blatant innuendos in every conversation with female co-workers and ends his day as drunk as a skunk, pissing on the streets and rolling in his own vomit. In short, he is a cringe-inducing wreck. After one episode, he wakes up in a room to find himself held captive. He is fed a diet of dumplings and vodka everyday and only has rodents for company.

Via television, he finds out his ex-wife has been murdered and he is the chief suspect. After almost losing his mind, he sees his daughter on a TV news report and realizes his only chance for moral redemption is to find and take care of her. Joe goes cold turkey, does push-ups and cleans up before managing to escape. In the real world, he meets the
sexy social worker Marie (Olsen) who adds some much-needed warmth to his life. Predictably enough, she falls for him. His buddy Chucky (Imperioli) is also a big help.

Lee is known for his bold films, but his remake of Chan-wook Park's genuinely freaky Oldeuboilacks the former's visceral punch. Two scenes - an extended tracking shot of a fight scene involving a hammer and Joe crawling out of a Louis Vuitton trunk in a field while a woman holding a yellow umbrella stands in the background - are surreal. What's oddest is that at the end of 20 years, Joe looks like he hasn't even aged 20 days and some of the dialogues are shockingly limp. The film has graphic violence and perversion, but there is no take-away. It leaves you trying to nail down what the point to this remake really was.

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Hollywood Movie Review

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Katniss finds herself battling anxiety issues a year after winning the 74th Hunger Games. Her nightmares come true, when she is once again targeted by the Capitol, in an attempt to crush an oncoming revolution. Will the odds be in her favour this time around?

Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games (2012) left off. By winning the previous season, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson) are on the radar of the Capitol, for instilling a sense of hope among the oppressed people of Panem. Fearing, the two may spark a rebellion, the Capitol decides to clip their wings and move them around like chess pieces. A twist in the games by President Snow, throws them back into the bloodthirsty arena. Can they identify 'who the real enemy is'?

If you like 'grim dystopian sci-fi films', Catching Fire is a spectacular 'edge-of-the-seat' thriller, which is unnerving, emotionally intense and immensely engaging. Unlike most sequels, Francis Lawrence ensures that his installment is not just a remake. While the first focussed on the deadly games, this one's more about the political moves and strategies.

The film is strangely unsettling and uplifting at the same time. An early scene in the film shows Katniss, sitting alone in a train compartment, staring out the window. She reminds you of a bird trapped in a cage. Its metaphors, unsaid emotions like these that make the film

brilliant. 'There are no victors, just survivors'. The story has an acute relevance to contemporary society, where we are expected to be pawns in our day-to-day lives.

Can you put your life on the line for others? Suzanne Collins' teenage-pawn-turned-rebel protagonist Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fights her own battles, making her one of the best role models of young adult fiction. All performances are solid but Jennifer Lawrence is the soul of the film. She makes you want to raise your fingers (District 12 sign) in respect of her incredible understated performance.

Spine-chilling cinematography evokes that much required eerie feeling throughout. Dramatic costumes are another highlight. The film makes our hopelessness pit against our own indomitable spirit of survival. Who wins?

Note: You may not like this film, if you don't like sci- fi action movies.

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Frozen - Hollywood Movie Review

Frozen 

Frozen is an endearing fairy tale about two princesses, their dreams, desires, fears, self-discovery and above all, unconditional love for each other.

A 'snow queen' of sorts, Princess Elsa has the power to create snow. Everything she touches turns into ice. A deadly mishap convinces her that she is born with a curse. Ashamed and heart-broken, she distances herself from the world and goes into a self-proclaimed exile. Clumsy and vivacious, younger sister Anna is kept in the dark about Elsa's secret, until their kingdom bears the brunt of it.

Can Anna rescue their kingdom from Elsa's uncontrollable icy powers? Will the sun shine upon their snow-clad kingdom again? Can the two rise above their insecurities and imperfections for the well-being of their people?

Visually stunning and emotionally arresting, Frozen is clearly the best animated film of the year. It's an incredible journey of a brave girl, who sets out to find her sister - the reluctant ice-queen with the help of an adorable snowman and an unconventional 'prince charming'. It is nowhere the 'cliched' fairy-tale, with an archaic view on women. The film introduces the new age Disney princesses, who no longer wait to be rescued. They are brave, uninhibited yet vulnerable and sacrificing. While snow looms over the kingdom, it's the goodness of people that keeps the fire burning. The songs are melodious and meaningful, while the 3D enhances the beauty of it all.

Also, Frozen redefines Disney's quintessential 'true love' theory. Even if you are not into fairy-tales, you'll love this one for it's unpredictable and thus keeps you engaged throughout. It's not about seeking happines
s with someone else, but being happy with who you truly are.

There's a lovely line that Olaf, the snowman, says in the film - Some people are worth melting for. Likewise, even if you are not too fond of snow, some love stories are worth freezing for! Do not miss out on this magical journey of love and self-discovery.

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Delivery Man - Hollywood Movie Review

Delivery Man

David is your average, everyday guy who once made some dough onthe side as a sperm donor named Starbuck, fathering 533 kids. When 142 of them decide to file a lawsuit to find out the identity of their dad, David is put in a situation he's never been in before.

A meat delivery truck driver by profession, David Wozniak (Vaughn) is as nondescript as they come. Even his pregnant girl, Emma (Smulders) tells him to 'get a life'. His best pal Brett (Pratt) knows that David's a bit of a simpleton with an eccentric streak. Although David knows he is a loser, he is never short of an innocuous scam or two, to invest in some Ponzi scheme to get richer. David gets a shock when a lawyer tells him he is facing a paternity case of this magnitude. But David's shock quickly - and inexplicably - leads him to becoming some kind of benefactor to his anonymous kids. He goes about tracking them to prove to Emma and himself that he can handle fatherhood.

While this aims to be a feel-good movie, it also serves up mountains of mush. Vaughn does seem to do his damndest to inject some pathos into his character, which does at times elicit empathy and even sympathy. But playing the pitiful pater familias isn't all there is to it. Only his buddy Brett manages to emerge as a persistent voice of reason as well as his legal means of recourse.

Additionally, the subplot of David being in debt to the tune of $100,000 has no bearing on the movie other than to influence so
me legal decisions. Emma is the only female character of any significance. She seems to be out of his league, but like a true underdog slugger, he won't give up to prove his love, which among other things has him bringing her greasy cheeseburgers and stolen sunflowers.

Based on 2011's movie, Starbuck, this is Vaughn's vehicle all the way. All said and done, the movie has its heart in the right place.

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Battle Of The Year - Hollywood Movie Review

Battle Of The Year

America hasn't won the most sought-after B-boying competition 'Battle of the year' since 15 years. As a last resort, a jaded basketball coach is roped in to bring about a change. Can he break the US's jinx as well as get his mojo back?

B-boying (a form of street dance) may have originated in the US but the country has been lagging behind in the much revered international dance competition 'Battle of the year', now hosted by France. Other countries like Korea, Russia and Germany have taken over and have been dominating the dance scene.

Jason Blake ( Josh Holloway) a jaded basketball coach, who had gone into a self-proclaimed exile after a personal tragedy, seeks solace and thus agrees to take matters into his own hands. On becoming the coach, he decides to handpick the best of B-boys in the US and make a 'dream team', as a last attempt to reclaim the country's lost glory. But can the egotistical dancers keep aside their personal differences and rise to the occasion?

'Battle of the Year' is no 'Step Up'. In fact it's a wanna-be 'Chak De India',minus the brilliance. Barring the dance sequences, which manage to impress but are too few, the film is highly cliched and painfully predictable. The usual banter between co-dancers, coach trying to resurrect his career, he making inspiring speeches to the crew, their hardships and insecurities...everything about this film looks borrowed, which is a major drawback. Nothing really holds your attention, except for the confident presence of Chris Brown. But that too doesn't last longer as his character fizzles out pretty soon.

Also the film's attempt at evoking patriotism (like sports
films do) doesn't work at all. No matter how passionate you are for a dance form, to use it in order to arouse nationalism seems futile.

Characters are not developed enough. You don't feel for them. Result being, you end up as mere spectators instead of well-wishers. While the film preaches 'passion' for whatever you do, it is exactly what seems to be missing from it.

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Rush Hour II - Hollywood Movie Review

Rush Hour II

Chris Tucker has the biggest mouth in the biz, but Jackie's hand is strong, and he knows how to keep a problem child like that in line. With Chan to keep things on track and Tucker to create a little chaos, Rush Hour 2 is another punch of comedic goodness. 

Rush Hour 2 stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as they kick in a sequel to the original Rush Hour. This time, Tucker is the fish out of water, as Jackie drags him through the streets of Hong Kong hunting down crime lords and bad ass babes. Their friendship still strong, the unlikely pair mix fast paced action with great comic timing to keep audiences in rapt attention. 

But even with strong Asian locations, its interesting to note that even this film eventually winds up in America. Are American audiences unable to sit through any film that spends to much time on foreign soil? Even James Bond at some point heads to good old LA, why should Jackie Chan be any different? Perhaps there is some more coincidental reason for the prevalence of American locations in globe trotting films, but I for one don't think Los Angeles is truly the center of the universe. Californians feel free to disagree.

"But Hobbit", you say "I don't want some damn idiot running around in my action movies screwing up the explosions with jokes!" So you don't like to laugh? This seems to be an increasingly popular attitude. It seems some members of the movie going public have forgotten how to laugh. What they fail to understand is that Jackie Chan does not make ACTION movies. Jackie Chan is in the business of making comedies with great action. Yes, he is an INCREDIBLE stuntman, and a world class martial artist, but Chan is in the business of dazzling the eye and making people laugh!!! If you don't want to chuckle a bit, why are you watching this film to begin with?

Some critics might malign Rush 2 for readily apparent plot holes and poorly explained motivation. Its true, the film does tend to rush headlong into action without spending much time on deep seated development. But generally, this is characteristic of every Chan film, and is in truth, part of his charm. Jackie's goal is fun. For him, its more important that his audiences leave with a smile on their face than to worry about winning Oscars or touching hearts. Chan is summer puff and he's damn good at it. The Rush Hour franchise is a prime example of all that's good about rock em sock em summer fare. Fun, high flying, kick in the pants adventure isn't so easy to do, but Chan consistently does it well. 

Tucker himself does what he does best, shoot off his mou
th. And if he gets his ass kicked a few times along the way, so much the better. He's annoying, he's retarded, he probably only has a fourth grade education, but for some reason that is incredibly funny. Combined with Chan's knack for producing platinum action comedy, Tucker shines at his side like he never has before. 

It isn't easy to keep America laughing, but Rush Hour 2 does what few other films seem to be able to accomplish. Its a real rush to get a film that actually keeps fun at the forefront.

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The Hangover Part II - Hollywood Movie Review

The Hangover Part II

In 2009 The Hangover was a surprise hit, the key word there being "surprise." It wasn't just that nobody was expecting much out of this R-rated comedy starring three guys we'd barely heard of, but that every outrageous turn in the movie felt out of the blue, from the genius idea of setting the film a day after a wild night to the much-discussed closing credits showing us everything the guys had forgotten. Even the jokes and plot points that weren't so original had enough raunchy energy to fake it, and the movie was a hit not just because it was one of the funniest mainstream comedies in years, but was gutsy enough to be one of the weirdest too.

Which makes it a complete and utter mystery why they decided to retrace their steps on The Hangover Part II, not a continuation of the story as the title promises but a soulless and badly unfunny retread of everything that worked the first time. You'd think the slew of credited screenwriters had been forced to rush this out and just copy the original script as quickly as possible, but in fact more than a year passed between The Hangover's smash success and the start of production on this sad mess. It's hard to know who to blame for the idiotic decision to give audiences exactly what they liked the first time and expect a change in location to make enough of a difference, but the result doesn't just feel like a callow cash grab, but an insult to the audience who would pay for this pale, lifeless imitation.

It's almost not worth summing up the plot, both because you've seen all of this before in a different city, and because too many details would spoil the handful of jokes that do come as genuine, funny surprises. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are all back in more or less the same form, this time trekking off to Thailand for the wedding of Stu, who at the end of The Hangover was looking like'd make it work with Heather Graham's sweet hooker, but just two years later is engaged to equally sweet Lauren (Jamie Chung), whose parents insisted on a Thailand wedding. It's not worth speculating too much on why the switch hap
pened, but it's more than a little icky that Chung is a full nine years younger than Helms, an age difference never explained because the movie is never too interested in her having a personality at all. Same goes for any other female character in the movie, or lack thereof, a complaint lobbed fairly at The Hangover that nobody even bothers to fix here.

The wedding is taking place at a lavish resort, but two days before the gang wakes up in a seedy Thai hotel, knowing they've misplaced Lauren's 16-year-old brother Teddy (Mason Lee) and somehow in the company of Ken Jeong's loudmouthed gangster from the previous film, Mr. Chow (Justin Bartha's Doug had the sense to sit the night out; at least the actor got a trip to Thailand out of the deal). Once again Stu, Alan and Phil try to piece together the previous night and find their missing friend; once again they wander through the dark underbelly of a given city, and once again any number of ludicrous complications, from a silent monk to an international arms detail, make it a difficult task. Unlike last time, though, none of it's all that funny, not just because the element of surprise is gone, but that the actors seem to be overcompensating for the lack of originality by dialing their characters up to 11. Cooper smirks and curses, Helms squawks and panics, Galifianakis utters non-sequiturs and pops out of his novelty T-shirts, all louder and less subtle than the first time; Jeong is an even bigger problem as Chow, a shrill character far more effective in small doses, or in this case probably none at all. 

Todd Phillips directs with a slick, loose attitude that's perfectly in sync with the film's few moments of goofy debauchery, but his style still worked far better in the first film, which had an actual script to back it up. And neither he nor his marooned actors does a single thing to add imagination or spark to a sequel that seems actively disdainful of its audience, assuming we're so easy to please or so dumb that we won't notice there's nothing new here. The Hangover Part II is definitely not the first Hollywood sequel to try something so cynical, but based on the quality of what came first, is among the most disappointing.

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