The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

[a big improvement over the first part]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

IMDB- 9.1 (Initial rating.To be updated later)

RottenTomatoes- 74%

RJG Ratings- 94

Bilbo and the dwarves continue their trek towards the misty mountains.

Starring- Martin Freeman,Richard Armitage,Luke Evans ,Ian McKellan

Director- Peter Jackson

Hobbit 2 is not a standalone movie at any cost.You HAVE to see the first part before seeing this one.

The cast do a wonderful job once again.Although its still very difficult for much focus to be given to the less prominent dwarves ,Peter Jackson does his best to get each one a good scene to shine.Martin Freeman does a good job as Bilbo.His character is slowly developed through the course of the movie ,giving him more opportunity to break free from the naive role he showed in the first movie.

Ian Mckellan has a very reduced role in the movie comparatively ,similar to his role in Two Towers.At times his role feels too stretched and unnecessary.Richard as Thorin once again gives a good performance.Orlando Bloom returns to the trilogy after a decade as Legolas.His role as a younger and more rash Legolas was great.Evangeline Lilly shines in the sole female role.Luke Evans as Barde was another excellent addition. 

The story is once again stretched to the point of breaking.It doesnt have the smoothness of the earlier Lord of the Rings.Its quite easy to notice these stretch points ,and it sort of ruins the pace.But unlike the first part ,Jackson has tried his best to cover these points.A lot could have been edited out, and the 160min movie could have been reduced by 10-15min.

Another major issue was the abrupt ending.It was a complete cliffhanger situation.And once again the stretching issue plays a major part here.Hobbit 2's finale, will now only be taking place in Hobbit 3's starting.Its predictable though.

The character development was good ,and all the characters were well fleshed out.The real surprise ,was the love story that Jackson has tried to infuse into the story.

The visual effects once again take the center stage.The beautiful background and the exciting action sequences will leave you spellbound.But the real winner was kept for last!And yes ,its SMAUG.The dragon's grand reveal was hidden for months ,and getting to see Smaug in his full form ,with all the effects ,was definitely worth the wait!Every scene with him was intense and thrilling.

The action sequences were brilliant.Most noteworthy was the barrel sequence ,which was hilarious and exciting at the same time!The final portion (Laketown) was beautifully shot.

The fight choreography was awesome and hilarious at times!

Direction by Jackson was great ,but not upto his potential.While he successfully manages to capture the magic of Middle Earth with his eye for detail and lavish doses of visual beauty ,he stumbles with the story telling.The climax for example kept switching to multiple stories that reduced the impact of the exciting Bilbo-Smaug meeting.He wasnt really able to juggle the Gandalf story ,the Laketown story and the Bilbo story smoothly.

But Jackson did fix much of the pacing issues that hogged the first part.The second part was more focused on action sequences and the story, and it didnt let the excitement level drop at any point.

I might have sounded a bit harsh with the movie ,but you have to remember that its in the shadows of one of the greatest trilogies of all time-Lord of the Rings ,which at this point Hobbit will never outshine.

Overall Hobbit 2 was a GIANT improvement over the first part ,but it still isnt without its faults.A must watch whether you liked the first movie or not.

Acting- 4/5

Story- 4/5

Direction- 4/5

Action- 5/5

Visual Effects -5/5

Drama- 4.5/5

Thriller -5/5

#hobbit #DesolationofSmaug #smaug

Chennai Express (2013)

[a masala movie for the SRK fans]

Chennai Express (2013)

IMDB- 6.8

RJG Rating- 65

Rahul gets on the wrong train taking him through an adventure of a lifetime.

Starring- Shahrukh Khan,Deepika Padukone

Director- Rohit Shetty

Shahrukh leads the movie with his usual charm.But at most times he goes a bit over the top.But this can be ignored as the movie requires him to spoof himself and his past characters for comic relief.SRK is great at comedy and he hits the notes at the right times.Deepika Padukone gives a good performance as well.She gives a much more controlled take on the role than SRK.Both have a good chemistry which gives the movie the much needed push.

The story for Chennai Express is nothing great.It has some new elements but the proceedings are the old usual ways.The story is predictable and mostly leans on SRK to carry the movie forward.The comedy was entertaining in the first half and dry up in the second giving way to romance and some drama.The second half pales in comparison ,but somehow manages to take the movie to the end.It doesnt take itself too seriously and knows its a masala movie at heart.So expecting a deep story is a bad idea.

The music was surprisingly average.The constant crooning "Chennai ai ai ai Express" was irritating and there was a song overload in the second half.The songs were all good and the sequences were colourful and fun.

Direction by Rohit is below average.Chennai is just like his previous movies ,predictable and over the top.The movie skips through various scenes ,and some shots look very amateurish.Some scenes are plain time fillers and have no real purpose than to dish an odd joke or two.The movie even suddenly sprouted some message/moral from nowhere at the climax.

The main attraction to Chennai is definitely Shahrukh.It isnt his best but its sort of a new type of role and he makes the movie bearable for his fans.Rohit has made Chennai Express with the sole intention to market the movie for the huge SRK fan base.

Overall ,Chennai Express is ONLY for Shahrukh fans, others might not enjoy this one bit.Its a one time watch ,a timepass movie.

Acting -3/5

Story- 2/5

Direction- 2/5

Comedy- 4/5

Romance- 4/5

Drama- 3/5

Man Of Steel (2013)

[action packed to the brim]

Man Of Steel (2013)

IMDB- (coming soon)

RottenTomatoes- 60%

RJG Rating- 85

The origin story of the greatest superhero of all time ,Superman.

Starring- Henry Cavill,Michael Shannon,Amy Adams,Russell Crowe

Director- Zack Snyder

Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman is great.He puts in a lot of effort behind the role and he is successful most of the time.You could sense the pain and loneliness behind his character ,which is essential to the tale.Amy Adams as Lois is good.She proves to be a much better representation of Lois than her earlier predecessors.Micheal Shannon as Zod is great.As a villain he is excellent and truly the best villain to face off against Superman.

On a surprising note ,Russel Crowe as Jor-El, has a good amount of scenes and hes amazing in them!Diane Lane and Kevin Costner do good as the foster parents.Theres a tight bond between Superman and both his parents (his dad and both foster parents) and the actors do an excellent job bringing it out.

The stumbling block for MOS is its story.Dont get me wrong ,its good ,but theres some heavy structural problems and thats mostly the directors fault.Other than that ,the story is engaging.The excellent depiction of Krypton and explaining Superman's powers on Earth were all done neatly.Goyer has brought in the realistic natures that were seen in The Dark Knight Trilogy and lends MOS the same ,a hard task considering the highly out of the world powers of Superman.

The relations between Superman and his parents were excellently highlighted.But his romance with Lois was not good enough.Some scenes do go a bit over the top (ex:The tornado flashback) ,and its hard to understand the choices the characters make.Zod's character was well developed and this helps in making him a great villain.

The visual effects were amazing.The Krypton sequences and especially the climax was wonderful!Music from Hans Zimmer was as usual amazing.It really gives the movie an intense atmosphere.

Direction by Zack Snyder was good.He keeps the movie packed with emotion and drama and amazing action scenes.The pace of the movie is a bit uneven at the start as it shifts back and forth from action to drama in the course of minutes ,but the latter half is fast paced and action packed.One of the issues i had with MOS was, Zack trying to 'Nolanise' the movie.The first half is riddled with jumping from the past and the present almost continuously.Juggling with timelines is best left to Nolan.Some scenes end all of a sudden and others just jump ahead without proper clarity.Editing is weak especially in the middle ,and this could irritate some viewers.

But Zack does master one aspect of the movie and thats the ACTION.I really have to talk about the action of this movie.

It was just mindblowing!!! The entire third half of the movie is one gigantic EPIC battle.I have to say that its the best superhero fight sequences ive EVER seen.Mixed with the soundtrack and the visuals ,the action is just jaw dropping.The scale of destruction was immense.It was really great to see Superman actually fighting someone that matched his powers.The finale left me speechless  

There are plenty of powerful scenes showcasing Superman's powers and all of them are spot on.Zack has made no mistake handling the action sequences ,and thats what keeps this movie afloat.

Overall ,Man Of Steel will go down as an excellent reboot of Superman made memorable with those jaw dropping action sequences.Its not perfect but its a blast!Its a must watch if you love action!

Acting- 4/5

Story- 3.5/5

Direction- 3.5/5

Action- 5/5

Drama- 4.5/5

Thriller- 5/5

Visual Effects- 5/5

Two and a Half Men [Season 10]

Two and a Half Men [Season 10]

RJG Rating- 5/10

story-Walden breaks up with Zoe.Alan & Lyndsy break up as well.Jake falls for older women.Its basically the same thing happening over and over throughout this season.

Review-

The previous season was the worst one in the shows history ,and my hopes for Season 10 was not very high.But somehow ,S10 turned out to be pretty average (which is a good thing compared to previous seasons).

Ashton's character was much better developed this time and Alan's progression into a gay character was put on hold in the second half of the season ,thankfully.The downsides are the lame jokes and dumb situations.Jake has been turned into a cameo and the show can safely be called 2Men from now.Jake's character had some interesting developments but hes not a regular anymore (except the 15sec Skype call).

The show will obviously return for another season ,but i still say it should get cancelled.

Dexter [Season 7] Review

Dexter [Season 7]

RJG Rating - 7.5/10

The story-

Debra finds out about Dexter's serial killings and tries to cure him of his addiction.LaGuerta gets suspicious about Travis Marshall's death ,and reopens the Bay Harbour Butcher case.Dexter gets involved with Hannah ,a suspected murderer.Dexter falls for Hannah but has her arrested.
Climax-Hannah escapes prison.LaGuerta confirms Dexter is the Bay Harbour Butcher.But is shot dead by Debra in the final scene.

Review-

This season was not too bad.But it still lacked the intensity of the initial seasons.The lack of a powerful villain too was a bit disappointing ,with Isaak (the mafia boss) ,being disposed off by the 3/4th of the season.This time ,the writers once again try to find a good pair for Dexter ,and they seem to have struck jackpot with the Hannah character.
The overall season was pretty good ,the writers have tried to give all the characters enough room, especially Quinn's subplot for nicely written.

Overall ,Dexter Season 7 was a good addition and the show is ripe for a finale.

How I Met Your Mother [Season 8] Review

How I Met Your Mother [Season 8]

RJG Rating - 4/10

The story-
Barney breaks up with Quinn ,Robin breaks up with Nick.Both pair up and Barney proposes to Robin.Marshall and Lily try to adjust with life after the arrival of the baby.Lily gets a job ,Marshall struggles with his.Ted as usual sits in depression and dates girls we all know wont be the 'mother'.
Climax-Barney-Robin marriage nears ,Marshall Lilly plan to move to Italy ,Ted is still conflicted as to whether Robin is his soulmate.And finally after 8 years ,the mother is shown.

Review-
This has been the WORST season for the show.The comedy was recycled and the entire objecctive was shifted.Barney's wedding has been the center of attraction for the past 2 YEARS! On a show called How i Met your Mother ,this is quite a big deviation.On top of that we had unnecessary distractions that we all know wont have any fruitful ending.The biggest headache was on how the show still tried to tease the audience on how Ted was still in love with Robin.
Barney's character no longer resembles the one we adored 8 years back.He has stripped down into a lame character.Marshall & Lilly continue to be consistent. Robin & Ted's characters have gone through some improvement.

Comedy is utter boring and lame.The drama ,whenever they do attempt is boring.The romance is missing.All of Ted's girls are shown to be great at first ,and when its time to write off their roles ,they are made into someone weird.Barney-Robin relation has been the worst pair up since they first tried it years back.Considering the writers showed Robin is the girl Barney would marry ,it tests the viewers patience when they have to sit through half the season seeing Barney Robin dating others.If you dont plan to have them together anytime soon ,please do not show such stuff years in advance.

Season 8 was a frustrating and a disappointing season for the show.It seems HIMYM has run its course.Cant wait for it to end!*

[PS:The finale season consisting of 24 episodes will take place in the course of 3 days before Barney Wedding.So we might have to sit through one more breakup of Barney-Robin.2more girls for Ted ,before Ted meets his wife NEXT YEAR IN MAY! HIMYM continues testing the patience of their audience]

Iron Man 3 (2013)

[Downey scores once again]

Iron Man 3 (2013)

IMDB- 7.7

RottenTomatoes- 78%

RJG Ratings- 75

Tony Stark finds his life scarred by memories, as a new villain wrecks havoc across the country.

Starring- Robert Downey Jr ,Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow,Ben Kingsley

Director- Shane Black

He has never disappointed with the role ,and he never does in this movie either.Im speaking about Robert Downey Jr ,who reprises his role of Tony Stark aka Ironman.Robert is at complete ease throughout IM3 ,and unlike the previous movies ,Robert gives a more deeper look into the character of Tony Stark.According to the promos ,youll notice that the villain is called Mandarin ,played by Ben Kingsley.As an actor ,Ben has done a great job ,but he never does get to complete the intense role.Ben's Mandarin will be a forgotten role in times to come.Back up villain ? Thats where Guy Pearce comes! Now he completely rocked the movie.Amazing performance by him ,and he is hands down the best villain from the Marvel Phase 1,2 series.Gwyneth Paltrow ,Rebecca Hall ,Don Cheadle ,Ty Simpkins (the kid) all do a good job.

The biggest flaw in my opinion is the story.Dont get me wrong ,its still a great story compared to previous Marvel movies ,but on closer observation its a hastily compiled story.At every point the story takes a convenient turn ,and stays predictable most of the time.The big 'twist' though hilarious ,completely ruins the intensity factor the movie's first half was building up.The thought process behind various scenes are missing.The end was rushed and completely goes against whatever the previous movies tried to tell.On the positive side ,theres plenty of Tony Stark.It was great to see him rely less on the suit for much of the movie.

Shane Black does a fine job handling the Iron Man franchise.He does a much much better job than Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2.He tries to give the movie a darker tone ,and the way he handled the Mandarin in the first half was excellent.But by the second half he lets the comic side in him let loose ,as he dumps the intensity for humour.The climax was really poor ,since it raised more questions than answers.The movie isnt too long ,and thus a rushed ending is questionable.Shane wraps up everything he unleashed in the course of a couple of minutes.

The action scenes were great.The Malibu House Attack ,Backup Suit Army Fight were awesome.The visual effects on the suit were stepped up a notch with the Mark42 suit assembling piece by piece on Tony's command.

Overall IM3 ,is a great addition to the Marvel series ,but it doesnt fulfill its potential to have been great.Die hard fans wont be disappointed!

Acting- 4/5

Story- 3/5

Direction- 3.5/5

Action- 4/5

Comedy- 4/5

Drama- 3/5

Romance- 3.5/5

PS:IM trilogy ranking-

4- IronMan2

3- IronMan3

2- Avengers (based on IM's story)

1- IronMan1

Biggies of MAY

7 BIGGIES OF MAY 2013

Iron-Man 3- MAY3

story-after the events of Avengers ,Iron man faces off against the Mandarin ,a terrorist ,whose influence is very powerful.

+ Its IronMan ,and who is not excited ?Robert Downey & cast returns ,although this movie will be directed by Shane Black ,instead of Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1&2)

- None so far.

The Great Gatsby- MAY10

story-Nick Carraway is intrigued by the lavish lifestyle of his neighbor Gatsby.But the more he looks ,the more secrets he uncover.

+ A solid cast lead by the amazing Leonardo DiCaprio ,Gatsby is a stylish movie based on the famous novel of the same name.

- If you are not a fan of director Baz Luhrmann's previous works, Australia,Moulin Rouge,Romeo Juliet ,you might not be very interested.Gatsby looks to be carrying plenty of melodrama.

Star Trek Into Darkness- MAY17

story- the crew of the Enterprise face an enemy that has risen from their own organization.

+ Sequel to the critical & blockbuster 2009 reboot ,Star Trek will cater to all sci-fi fans.Director Abrams is a huge favorite among scifi lovers,and he wont be likely to disappoint.

- Too much hype is bad too.If it fails to match upto the first part,it will be criticized heavily by the audience.

Fast and Furious 6- MAY24

story- Dom & Team is called upon to nab Letty's gang.

+ the original cast is back after the successful Fast Five.Action looks spectacular!

- Chances of repeating the success of Fast Five is a hard task to pull off.The synopsis doesnt sound too fresh.

The Hangover Part III- MAY24

story-no wedding or bachelor party ,this time the guys go on a road trip to Tijuana.

+ The trailers are promising a completely new story other than that of the first 2.

- The second part was huge disappointment critically and theres no guarantee whether the third will be any good.the second ruined all the goodwill of the first part.

Now You See Me- MAY 31

story- 4 magicians conduct a bank robbery using the audience members.

+ a good concept.Cast includes Jesse Eisenberg & Woody Harrelson and other A-Listers.

- director Louis Leterrier has a poor history in film making.Out of 5 ,only Incredible Hulk has been remotely good.And based on the trailers ,this could turn out to be a cliched ride.

After Earth-MAY 31

story-1000 years after the people have left Earth ,a father and son duo land on Earth after an accident.

+ Real life father & son ,Will & Jaden Smith act in this,and they have yet to disappoint.The visuals looks great too ,and the concept is strong.

- Director M Night Shyamalan has not made a good movie since 2002's Signs.After a series of flop movies ,hes now considered one of the worst directors.After Earth will suffer if badly if the movie disappoints even in the slightest.

For the rest of the 2013 biggies -check out http://bit.ly/2013BIGGIESrjg

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

[a grand disappointment]

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)
IMDB- 8.4
RJG Rating- 55

Akira,an upcoming reporter meets Samar ,a fearless soldier ,whose past she uncovers.

Starring- Shahrukh Khan ,Katrina Kaif ,Anushka Sharma
Director- Yash Chopra

In the first half we have SRK who plays a muscian/waiter ,a happy go lucky character.SRK is charming and plays the role very well.In the second half ,we get to see SRK in a more matured role ,a soldier in a bomb disposal squad.Once again he plays the role with utter ease.Katrina Kaif ,who plays Meera ,the daughter of a rich stockbroker.Katrina and SRK share a great chemistry and gets the first half going in a series of songs and romantic scenes.The real fire cracker of the movie was Anushka Sharma.Though both SRK and Katrina fail to deliver in the 3rd half of the movie (yes,3rd half,this movie is pretty long) ,Anushka maintains consistency and gives a solid performance throughout the duration of her role.SRK & Katrina's acting completely unravels in the proceedings of the 3rd half due to the bad screenplay.

The story for JTHJ was not only unnecessarily long but offers nothing new either.Although it tries to stay free of the usual cliches ,all the efforts crash land in the 3rd half.One of the drawbacks is, who Adithya Chopra (the writer) implies the villain of the movie is.Although im not revealing who it is ,its a baffling thought and a quite stupid idea.
The point where i lost all hope,was in the 3rd half where a twist changes the entire course of the movie.This is conveniently reversed half an hour later ,making you wonder why such a twist was even necessary.

Direction by Yash Chopra is average.I have seen him handle a far more complex story ,much more beautifully before.While he captures the beauty of all the exotic locations and brings romance back in grand fashion ,its no doubt that he messed up towards the end.He could have made JTHJ a fantastic romantic movie ,but by falling for the old hindi movie cliches ,he makes his last effort an average flick.The dialogues were not as great and sometimes it gets irritating.

The song overload in the first half was also a bit tiring.Ishq Shaava (Instrumental)+Ishq Shaava(song)+Heer+Saans, play in the gap of just 30min .But on the plus side ,none of the songs seem forced and are placed appropriately based on the story.The music video for all ,were fabulous.The music for JTHJ is above average.Rahman's music might not stand out ,but Gulzar's excellent lyrics make the songs very memorable.

Overall ,JTHJ is a failure ,because of its weak storyline and lack of thought process behind the film.Watch it once if you are a fan of either SRK-Yash-Anu-Kat.But dont expect anything great.

Acting - 3/5
Story- 2/5
Direction- 2.5/5
Romance- 3/5
Drama- 2.5/5

Skyfall (2012)

[one of the best spy movies ever]

Skyfall (2012)
IMDB- 8.1 (Top 250 #219)
RottenTomatoes- 91%
RJG Rating - 99

A mysterious person wrecks havoc across MI6 ,forcing Bond to return to service.

Starring- Daniel Craig ,Javier Bardem,Judi Dench
Director- Sam Mendes

Skyfall is the 3rd movie with Daniel Craig as James Bond.This is also the 23rd movie in the 50year old series James Bond.

Daniel once again nails it as Bond.He gives the character a very matured personality.With Skyfall ,Craig gives one of his best performances to date and proves that he is the best Bond.However the Bond girls fail to match upto the performances of Eva Green or Olga K from the previous 2 movies.Berenice gives a stunning role ,but it is a short role.Naomie too is pretty much sidelined throughout the movie and doesnt offer much.Judi Dench as 'M' gives a good performance.But the person who gives a tight competition to Daniel is Javier Bardem,as the villain Silva.Javier's performance will certainly go down as one of the James Bond series' best villains.What severely lacked in both Casino & Quantum was a strong villain and that is accomplished in Skyfall.Javier's entrance is almost at the halfway mark of the movie ,but once he enters ,he steals the show.Daniel isnt an actor who is easy to overshadow ,but Javier equals him.

The story is the best amongst the Daniel Craig-Bond movies.Unlike Quantum, it gives the story top priority and this gives Skyfall a very strong pillar to lean upon.But it stumbles in the end a bit ,but for the majority of the movie the story is first class.The way it digs deep into Bond's & M's past is neatly unfolded.

Sam Mendes gives Skyfall an intense makeover.He doesnt litter the movie with various action sequences ,like Quantum, but drives the movie with the performances of Daniel & Javier.The pacing of the movie is intense for the most part but it runs slow towards the end (Daniel reaching Skyfall).Mendes has said he drew inspiration from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight for Skyfall and this can be clearly seen on screen.It helps Skyfall set the standard for future James Bond movies (a tough task to follow through).

The various action sequences are top notch ,the opening chase sequence will keep you at the edge of your seat!The cinematography is another plus point.The beauty of the various locations are caught on screen and will definitely catch your breath.The climax is a beautifully shot sequence too.

Another tradition of a James Bond movie is the theme song & the accompanying credits video.All i can say is - Wow!
I was completely floored by the song when i first heard it ,but seeing how it plays out in the movie was just amazing!The video is just fabulous and is again a series high for James Bond.

The movie was hyped before release ,saying its the Best Bond movie of all time,now after seeing Skyfall ,i completely disagree ,not only is it the best Bond movie ,its the best spy/agent movie of all time.Its a must watch!

Acting- 5/5
Story- 4.5/5
Direction- 5/5
Action- 5/5
Drama- 5/5
Thriller- 5/5

Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012)

[Another garbage from Bollywood]

Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012)
IMDB-6.2
RJG Rating-10

2 desperate friends travel to Goa hoping their lives would change for the better.

Starring- Ritesh Deshmukh ,Tusshar Kapoor
Director- Sachin Yardi

KSKHH is a stand alone sequel to 2005's Kyaa Kool Hain Hum ,which for some weird reason i dont understand, is called a cult comedy movie.

Tushar & Ritesh are the two main leads of the movie and both give average performances,with Ritesh being the better one of the duo.The female leads ,Neha & Sarah Jane are utterly useless and have no acting skills what so ever.

KSKHH has no story and rely solely on its string of adult jokes through out its 137min running time.
For a movie that depends solely on comedy,its in tragic shape.The adult comedy which was promoted as the highlight of the whole movie is hopeless.The jokes used are the ones that you read on the net or sms ,using them to make a movie is plain idiocy and people who enjoy this movie are idiots as well.The actors delivering these jokes make them look even more out of place by their terrible acting.
The jokes seem to have been selected just for being an adult joke and not based on their wit or for being funny.

Direction is poor.For such a movie a director is not even needed.Its so poorly made.
While many may compare this movie to Hollywoods string of adult comedies ,it should be noted that even though they too have terrible adult comedy movies ,they atleast have a story ,which sadly KSKHH doesnt have.

The music used may be nonsense but its the only thing that is good in this whole movie.

Overall,KSKHH is definitely not a movie for a sensible viewer ,its more enjoyable if you just like dumb movies.

Acting- 1.5/5
Story- 0/5
Direction- 0.25/5
Comedy- 2.5/5
Romance- 1/5

TDKR @ Rottentomatoes

TDKR was certified fresh at Rottentomatoes and currently holds a fresh rating of 87% ,with 62 positive and 9 negative.The site also released its own review of the movie.

"The Dark Knight Rises is an ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan's franchise in spectacular fashion, even if it doesn't quite meet the high standard set by its predecessor."

Check out out my facebook album - TDKR Rating to get the latest rating of TDKR at Rottentomatoes & IMDB.

RECAP :Memento (2000) Review

6 MORE WEEKS for Nolan's final Batman movie !! Here's my review of his 2nd movie- Memento

Memento (2000)

RECAP :Following (1998) Review

Theres just 7 MORE WEEKS for the final chapter of the EPIC Dark Knight Legend by Nolan..So each week ill be sharing my reviews of each of Nolan's 7 movies till JULY 20th. So first on the list --FOLLOWING

Following (1998)

John Carter (2012)

[action packed visual delight]

John Carter (2012)
IMDB-6.9
Rotten tomatoes-52
RJG Rating-80

John carter a Civil War veteran from Virginia is accidentally teleported to Mars,where a war is going on between 2 tribes.

Starring- Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins.
Director- Andrew Stanton

John carter was one of Disney's biggest movies of 2012.Its a visual feast for the eyes.The movie is the adaptation of the famous story "Princess Of Mars" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Taylor Kitsch & Lynn Collins give a decent performance as Carter & the princess respectively.They arent outstanding but they arent bad either.The supporting cast too has no main highlights so to speak.The movie gives more priority to the effects than concentrate on the emotions of the characters.

Story too wasnt anything great or spectacular but it did have an epic feel to it.

Andrew Stanton ,the acclaimed director of Pixar masterpieces Finding Nemo & Wall-E ,has handled the movie of such epic proportions quite well.But unfortunately the heart of this movie seems to be missing.Another problem that might lag viewers is the beginning part ,which is a bit slow since the audience has to be introduced to John Carter's earthly life. But once the Martian landscape is seen, the pace never goes down again and the real adventure begins.

The main highlights of this movie are its Visuals and its action sequences.All the fights are top class and keep the viewers at the edge of their seats.
The Martian landscape & the CGI characters are all realistic and blends flawlessly with the storyline.

The movie was meant to be the start of a trilogy but considering its failure at the box office,this might be the only John Carter we might see for a long time.
Overall this movie is definitely a fun movie to watch with friends.Action junkies will love this.

Acting-3/5
Story-3.5/5
Direction-4/5
Action-5/5
Visuals-5/5
Romance-3.5/5

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

[Action packed & Unlimited Fun]

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
IMDB -8.8 (Top 250: #30)
Rotten Tomatoes -93
RJG Rating-90

A group of superheroes have to unite in order to take down an Intergalactic attack that aims to destroy the Earth.

Starring- Robert Downey Jr.,Chris Evans,Mark Ruffalo,Chris Hemsworth,Scarlett Johansson,Jeremy Renner,Tom Hiddleston,Samuel L. Jackson
Directing- Joss Whedon

Avengers had one of the longest marketing technique used in the movie industry.Its marketing started way back in 2008 with the release of Iron-Man.After 4 years and 5 movies later, that movie is finally released.The Avengers fulfills all the expectations that were raised in this 4 year duration.All the main actors have returned (except Edward Norton ,replaced by Mark Ruffalo for The Hulk) ,and the story is fun ,witty and action packed.

The biggest drawbacks most star-studded movies encounter is giving the comparatively more famous actor the biggest chunk of role.Thankfully this was not the deal for Avengers.All the main heroes (IronMan,Captain America ,Thor & Hulk) got equally big as well as important part in the story.The secondary actors (Nick Fury & Black Widow) were not brushed off ,and even with all the superheroes getting the good parts ,these 2 still had major roles.The only character felt unused and a bit expendable was Hawkeye.
This speaks volumes of how the story has been handled.Juggling 6-7 heroes and giving each ample screentime is no easy task.

In the acting department ,Robert Downey stole the show as he usually does.He was born to play IronMan.In every scene he appears he is in total style and gives IronMan his soul.
Both Chris Evans(Captain America) & Chris Hemsworth (Thor) were not bad.Both did equal justice to their roles.Tom Hiddleston (Loki) delivered yet another excellent villainous role ,similar to the one he did in Thor.Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) had a surprisingly longer and major role and she too gives her best.Jeremy Renner (HawkEye) was too rigid ,this may be due to his role not being fully fledged.Samuel J(Nick Fury) was good.
But the true show stealer was Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.The Hulk will indeed be EVERYONE's favourite character once they have seen Avengers.Every scene & action scene by Hulk is just Pure Awesomeness.

Story as i previously said is truly noteworthy because of the huge juggling acting of giving each Hero their own connection with the movie.But in terms of story telling ,it falters just a bit.The story makes way for the action and takes the backseat.While the first half concentrates on the story ,the second is completely action based.

Action scenes are superb.The numerous fight scenes,hero vs hero,hero vs hoardes ,heroes vs the villain ,ALL are properly choreographed and exciting.

Direction was great.The way Joss Whedon managed to direct this movie with these many superheroes and mixing them and giving one solid movie is truly remarkable.On the downside the first half was riddled with pacing issues.Some dragging scenes in the first half drained the excitement after some great fights.But once the Hulk appears ,the movie just blasts off to high levels of awesomeness never to go down again.The real Avengers movie starts with The Hulk and ends with him too.
The dialogues were witty and funny ,and Robert Downey's style of delivery & Hulk's grunts of words steal many scenes away.

Overall Avengers is a colourful,funny,action packed movie that delivers its promise of a United Super Heroes movie.The movie might not be legendary ,but The Hulk & Robert Downey will not be forgotten. A must watch movie.

Acting-4.5/5
Story-4/5
Direction-4.5/5
Action-5/5
Comedy-4.5/5

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