The Amazing Spiderman (2012)

[the best Spiderman movie yet]

The Amazing Spiderman (2012)
IMDB- 7.3
Rottentomatoes- 73%
RJG Rating- 90

Peter Parker ,a normal teenager gets his life turned upside down after a spider bites him.

Starring- Andrew Garfield,Emma Stone ,Rhys Ifans
Director -Mark Webb

The Amazing Spiderman is the reboot of the Spiderman series which was earlier directed by Sam Raimi & starred Tobey Maguire.The reboot however is of a completely different tone compared with the original.

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spiderman is a HUGE improvement over the miscast Tobey from the earlier series.Andrew brings in some guts to his character and is more believable as Spiderman.He does an excellent job.Emma Stone as Gwen too is perfect.Her chemistry with Andrew is another boost for the movie.The villain ,The Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans is again a result of good casting.

The story for Spiderman is a tough job for a reboot.Everyone knows what happens and its been shown countless times in the previous series and in the various spiderman cartoons.Fortunately the writers ,bring about some change to the classic tale.The story is more darker and much more intense than the previous movies.On the downside ,it does leave some storylines open as it rushes towards the end.This might be for the sequels to continue open ,but it would have better if a proper explanation was given at the end.

Mark Webb as the new director totally rocked the movie.His take on the Spiderman tale definitely gives it a much needed freshness to the movie.Theres no cheesy lines or dull moments.Bringing a villain like the Lizard in the first movie itself could have been a disaster ,considering the realistic setting of the movie,but Mark skillfully manages to do it.Scenes with the Lizard were great thrillers.

The cinematography was excellent and captures some superb shots of Spiderman in all his web slinging glory.The visual effects on the Lizard was excellent but could have been better .The switch between first person camera in the web slinging scenes was experimented successfully.

Overall,Mark Webb has given Spiderman a much needed reboot.Its a great superhero movie.A must watch.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 4/5
Direction- 4/5
Action- 5/5
Romance- 4/5
Thriller- 4/5

Dexter [2] ,HIMYM [2],2Men [2],Middle[1-2],POI [1]

Person Of Interest [2x01] The Contingency

TV.com- 8.7
RJG Rating- 9

Reese starts his search for the abducted Finch.

And the shows back with the same intensity of the first season.The season premiere was excellent ,and the story was excellent.Jonathan Nolan (younger bro of Christopher Nolan) extends his brilliance to the show.

Middle [4x01-02] Last Whiff of Summer

TV.com- 8.5
RJG Rating- 10

The Heck family describes their summer.
Wow! The Middle once again delivers a sweet & hilarious episode.The whole cast did an excellent job with this one.The kids have grown up and their characters are more developed.The comedy & the family drama is blended to perfection.

Two & a Half Men [10x02] A Big Bag of Dog

TV.com - 8.2
RJG Rating- 3.5

Walden tries to suppress his feelings of getting rejected by Zoey.

Another dull episode by 2men.Totally boring and terrible.The highlight of the whole episode was probably the final joke with the dog ,but other than that this was just a complete waste of time.

Dexter [7x02] Sunshine and Frosty Swirl

TV.com- 8.5
RJG Rating- 7

Debra takes action against Dexter.
Ok,now we are back on track.After a lukewarm start to the season ,the show returns to life.But much of the story is still under wraps.Dexter has yet to face with the villain/villains of the season . Bbut the downsides of the episode was ...
<SPOILER ALERT>
...Debra restricting Dexter .Sure it isnt that bad ,but hes a serial killer ,we need more kills!As for the weird compu tech ,his character is still not clear.Just a freak or a truly dangerous killer.

How i met your Mother [8x02] The Pre-Nup

TV.com- 7.8
RJG Rating- 5

Barney considers a prenup.
Again an episode which has NOTHING to do with Ted's wife .The jokes were flat and the episode trudged along with no real comedy.Its time to end the show.

Iron Man (2008)

[fun and enjoyable superhero movie for all]

Iron Man (2008)
IMDB- 7.9
Rottentomatoes- 94%
RJG Rating- 90

After being kidnapped by a terrorist group ,Tony Stark vows to fight back .

Starring- Robert Downey Jr. ,Jeff Bridges ,Gwyneth Paltrow
Direction- Jon Favreau

Iron Man is a superhero based on the Marvel comic book hero of the same name.

Robert Downey plays the titular character and he simply rocks it!The entire movie is shouldered by the charm of Robert as Iron Man.From scene one to the finale its all Robert.He was born to play this role.But when you have such a powerful actor in the movie ,he just overshadows everyone else.Gwyneth is ok as Pepper Potts ,she tries her best in the role.Jeff Bridges as the ,Obadiah/Iron Monger , is passable.Terence Howard as Rhodes gives a good performance.

The story for IronMan is tightly knit and solid.It doesnt pull of many twists but it paints a good origin story ,followed up by a nice action packed tale.The main pillars of the story are the witty dialogues delivered by Robert (Ironman/Tony).But the story runs out of steam towards the end.

Direction from Jon ,is excellent.He does a great job bringing to screen the tale of Iron Man.What was once a risky move turned out to be a game changer movie for Marvel & Paramount studios.Jon manages to balance the seriousness with the fun, making the movie an enjoyable experience for all.

Bringing a comic superhero into Hollywood ,amongst other well established heroes was going to be a tough task, but no one could have predicted the kind of reaction it received.The audience and critics praised the movie and its star Robert Downey.More importantly it laid the foundation for the 2012 movie The Avengers.

Overall ,Ironman is a movie for everyone.Fun and action packed with a strong performance by Robert Downey.

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


Oscars
Nominated - 2
Best Sound Editing
Best Visual Effects

OMG! Oh My God (2012)

[a thought provoking and hilarious movie]

OMG! Oh My God (2012)
IMDB- 8.5
RJG Rating- 100

Kanji ,a business man sues God for the destruction of his shop in an earthquake.

Starring- Paresh Rawal,Akshay Kumar
Director- Umesh Shukla

OMG is an adaptation of the Gujarati play Kanji Virudh (vs) Kanji, which is an adaptation of an Australian movie ,The Man Who Sued God.

Paresh Rawal is the star of the show.He plays Kanji to perfection and delivers both comical and emotional scenes brilliantly.Akshay Kumar as God ,is a supporting character to Kanji ,and he too delivers nicely.Mithun & Govind as the religious leaders were hilarious with their antics.The rest of the cast were all amazing in their roles.

The story is well crafted.Its a smooth run from start to finish and raises important points and thoughts that can really make an impact on the audience.Thanks to Paresh's excellent comic timing ,he carries out hard hitting points but still manages to make the audience laugh.Another plus point for the story was how delicately it treated the God character.The story itself mainly centers around Hinduism ,but its thoughts & ideas arent restricted to any one religion,but touches upon all.

Direction by Umesh is excellent.OMG blends a perfect mix of comedy-drama+starpower.It has an even pace and hasnt got a dull moment anywhere.The issues brought forward arent just put out to the the audience ,but are also given solutions and reasonable logic behind the solutions.

Overall ,OMG not only has an interesting concept but boasts of excellent performances and ideas that can really have an effect on our daily lives.

Acting- 5/5
Story- 5/5
Direction- 5/5
Comedy- 5/5
Drama- 5/5

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

Song of the Lonely Mountain (Hobbit Song)

Check out the full song from The Hobbit - Song of the Lonely Mountain by Neil Finn.

http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/neilfinn.html
Its just amazing ,but i felt there was abit too much echo (maybe its the sites problem).There will be 2 versions of this song,this one will be played during the end credits ,while the second version will be sung by the Dwarves during the movie (featured in the first trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-qCln4KhvM)

Quantum Of Solace (2008)

[an action packed Bond movie]

Quantum Of Solace (2008)
IMDB- 6.7
Rottentomatoes- 64%
RJG Rating- 70

James Bond investigates the shady organization ,by the name of Quantum.

Starring -Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko
Director- Marc Forster

Daniel Craig continues his fabulous performance as James Bond.On his second movie as Bond ,Daniel gives his character more of the trademark egoistical charm and elegant one liners.Olga takes up the mantle of Bond girl in Quantum.Like Eva Green ,in the previous movie ,she gives a good performance.But Quantum like Casino fails to bring about a powerful villain.The villain ,Greene ,played by Mathieu Amalric , falls into the zone of a typical villain and doesnt offer much.

The story for Quantum OS takes a backseat throughout the duration of the movie.While it is a good spy story ,it isnt really spectacular nor deep.The main problem is that its hard to concentrate on the plot when you have long action sequences taking place every 5-10min.These action sequences are quite good and intense but after a while it starts to overshadow the story and might cause you to lose focus on the thin plot.

Direction by Marc Forster is good ,but doesnt come upto Casino's Martin Campbell.Marc focuses more on action than give importance to the story.But on the positive side ,QOS doesnt get dull at any point.The excellent cinematography carries the, long but edge of seat,action sequences very neatly.

Overall ,Quantum doesnt match upto its predecessor ,but Daniel Craig & the action sequences make it worth your time.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 3/5
Direction- 3.5/5
Action- 4.5/5

New Pics from TDKR

Some new pics from Warner Bros. 'For Your Consideration' website
http://warnerbros2012.warnerbros.com/film.php?film=darkknight

Skyfall conquers the US Box office in style.

1-As expected ,Skyfall not only topped the weekend but also scored the highest debut for a James Bond movie ever.Skyfall made $87.8million in the 3 day weekend ,a series high (Quantum is second with $67.5million).This is Daniel Craig's 3rd movie as Bond ,after the reboot ,Casino Royale ,and its sequel Quantum Of Solace.
So far ,Skyfall has made $90million in 4days in USA ,and $428million overseas ,for a grand total of $518million.The movie is set to outgross both Casino Royale ($594million) & Quantum Of Solace ($586million) in a matter of days to become the top grossing movie in the James Bond series.

Skyfall has been hyped as the best Bond movie in the 23 movie series .After gaining excellent reviews (91%) and now its grand debut ,the hype seems to be true.

2-Even with Skyfall dominating the box office ,Wreck It Ralph just dropped by 33% for a second week collection of $33million.The movie has been loved by the masses and is set to scoop the animation awards.The movie has so far made $93million domestically.

3-Like Wreck It Ralph ,Flight too stood steadily to make $15million.Made at a budget of $31million ,Flight has already made $47.7million through its domestic run itself.

4-Even after 5 weeks ,Argo still stands strong within the Top 5.The hostage movie made $6.7million for a domestic total of $85million.

5-Taken 2 kept its place from last week making $4million this time.The movie has scored $131million domestically & a worldwide gross of $348million.While Taken 2 has outgrossed Taken worldwide ,it still needs to make atleast $16million to outgross it domestically.

This week ,even James Bond will have to fight to stay on top.Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 will open along with Steven Speilberg's Lincoln.Breaking Dawn is all set to make a gigantic opening due to large number of Twilight fans gathering for the final part of the blockbuster series.Just a year ago ,Breaking Dawn Part 1 made $138million in the opening week .Its possible Part 2 can be much bigger than this.

But my pick of the week will definitely be Steven Speilberg's Lincoln.The biopic has already impressed critics ,and Daniel Lewis ,who plays Lincoln ,is a sure nominee for The Best Actor at all major Awards ceremonies in 2013.Lincoln is currently at 91%.
One movie that ill be sure never to watch will be Twilight:Breaking Dawn 2.Its an insult to the vampire genre and other chick flicks.

Casino Royale (2006)

[the best James Bond movie in ages]

Casino Royale (2006)
IMDB- 7.9
Rottentomatoes- 94%
RJG Rating- 99

James Bond takes up his first mission ,to thwart a terrorist plot by playing in a high stakes poker game.

Starring- Daniel Craig ,Eva Green
Director- Martin Campbell

After about 40 years since the first Bond movie ,it was decided that the 21st James Bond movie would reboot the entire franchise.Thus came Casino Royale ,with a new Bond in the form of Daniel Craig and directed by Martin Campbell ,and it indeed breathe new life into the James Bond series.

When Daniel was first cast as the replacement of Pierce Bronson in the reboot ,he was met with mixed reaction from the fans.But once they had seen Casino Royale ,there was no mixed opinion ,Daniel Craig was not only better than Pierce, but many claimed he was one of the best Bond ,second only to Sean Connery (the first Bond).In my opinion Craig is the Best!From the very start to the end Daniel gives Bond his trademark charm but also some realistic human nature ,something that sorely lacked in the previous movies.Eva Green as Vesper gives one of her best performances onscreen.She blends her beauty and charm and gives a strong support to Daniel Craig's Bond.Mads Mikkelsen plays the villain and he gives a good performance.Although he isnt quite as menacing as a villain usually is ,he does his best.

The story of Casino Royale takes the viewers to the very beginning of how James Bond became a 007.The story plays out smoothly and has some great twists and turns as it proceeds.A vital point of the tale was making James Bond more human in nature rather than the over the top spy character ,the previous Bond movies lead us to believe.The story is deep and gives ample opportunity for Craig to flesh out James Bond nature.As usual we have the extra hi-tech gadgets ,but they too are simple in nature and doesnt seem out of this world type.A slight issue was that the climax tried too hard to bring in various twists ,but this isnt much of a problem since the movie powers through with splendid action sequences and gives Casino Royale an excellent end.

Martin Cambell (Goldeneye,Mask of Zorro) returns to direct yet another Bond movie.His approach to the material is straight forward and he gives the viewers pure thrills that had been missing in recent Bond movies.The fabulous action pieces are just superb and all are superbly shot.It never gets tiring or doesnt lose pace throughout the 2.30hr duration of the movie.The chase sequences are just incredible and are one of the best of ALL TIME !

On release Casino Royale was universally praised and the fans accepted Daniel as the new Bond.As of 2011 ,Casino Royale is the highest grossing movie in the James Bond series

Overall ,Casino Royale is another successful reboot ,and one of the Best James Bond movies.A must watch if you love spy thrillers.

Acting- 5/5
Story- 4.5/5
Direction- 4.5/5
Action- 5/5
Drama- 5/5
Thriller- 4.5/5
Romance- 4/5

30 Rock [7x01]

30 Rock [7x01] The Beginning of the End

TV.com - 8
RJG Rating- 8
Jack greenlits various terrible shows ,while Jenna traps Liz to be her bridesmaid.

30 Rock made a good debut with its subtle humour and excellent performances.While the episode wasnt one of the bests ,it certainly was the best debut among the new seasons of TV shows .

Arrow [1x01]

Arrow [1x01] Pilot

TV.com - 8.5
RJG Rating- 7

Oliver Queen is rescued from an island after being deserted on it for 5 years.

This new tv series is based on DC comic's superhero ,Green Arrow.I found the episode good for most parts of it,but it was not without its faults.Stephen Amell as Oliver , is not a great actor.Many scenes felt messed up due to his below par acting.The episode also felt a bit cliched too especially the final 15min.But on the positive side ,its not a bad start for Arrow ,and i hope the new episodes are better.

Modern Family [4x01]

Modern Family [4x01] Bringing Up Baby

TV.com - 5.7

RJG Rating- 6.5

Jay celebrates his birthday with his old friends & Phil.Meanwhile Gloria doesnt know how to break the news about the baby.

Modern family's season debut was average.Season 3 ended on a somewhat emotional manner ,and its side effects still linger over the season debut.The start was a bit rough but the episode did have some jokes at hand.Hopefully it will get better.

Walking Dead [3x02]

Walking Dead [3x02] Sick

TV.com - 8.5
RJG Rating- 8

Rick and his group meet some of the resident prisoners at the Jail.

The show has finally picked up speed!Its actually much much more brutal than the first or second season.Even though Lori & Carl are still nagging and overbearing ,they are given as less time and possible.The main highlight of the episode was definitely Rick.After 2 seasons of walking timidly among the zombies ,his character has grown up wonderfully .The unpredictability of the situations give the show a nice edge.Hope the show keeps the momentum up.