Pain & Gain Poster

Poster for Micheal Bay's Pain & Gain.Starring Mark Wahlberg & The Rock ,the movie is about 2 bodybuilders who get caught up in a drug ring.

The action comedy is based on a true story and set for release on April 26 2013

Indiana JOnes /TDKR Mashup

A superb mashup of India Jones with TDKR Trailer .
For Fans of Indiana Jones !
Thanx to uploader -TheSynchroCosm
Indi Jones /TDKR mashup

Pics from Hobbit 2 & 3

This pic is from Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug (Hobbit 2).In this we have Martin Freeman ,who plays the central character of Bilbo Baggins ,facing the terrifying dragon Smaug.Benedict Cumberbatch plays Smaug in motion capture (like Andy Serkis does for Gollum) and the image of Smaug is a much guarded secret as of now.
The second part to the Hobbit ,"The Desolation of Smaug" will release on December 13th, 2013.

This pic is from Hobbit:There and Back Again (Hobbit 3).In this we have Orlando Bloom ,reprising his role Legolas from the Lord of The Ring Trilogy , and Luke Evans who plays Bard the Bowmen.

The finale of the Hobbit trilogy ,"There and Back Again" will release on July 18th 2014.

Oblivion Poster

Teaser Poster for Tom Cruise starrer Oblivion.Its a futuristic ,sci-fi movie and is directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy).Heres a short synopsis of the movie:

This film is set in the far future on a desolate Earth, where most people now live in a floating city. Cruise plays a "drone repairmen" whose life changes when he comes across a crashed spacecraft.

Along with Tom Cruise,the movie also stars ,Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko.Trailer for the movie will come out on Dec 14 along with The Hobbit.
The movie is set for release on April 19th 2013.

Dark Knight Trilogy Fan Montage

One of the greatest series that has graced film history.Nolan's take on Batman will be remembered for all time.Heres a video by Syncopy ,which takes a look into the 3 epic movies of The Dark Knight Trilogy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s4aAp8OxGg

The Expendables 2 (2012)

[better than the first]

The Expendables 2 (2012)
IMDB- 7
Rottentomatoes- 66%
RJG Rating- 70

The Expendables are given a simple task ,but as usual things never go simple.

Starring- Sylvester Stallone,Jason Statham,Van Damme
Director- Simon West

The Expendables are like 'The Avengers' of action stars.Bringing together the top action stars is a hard juggling act.The first Expendables was bloated with stars ,and giving all equal timing was a messy affair.But fortunately Sylvester (writer & Lead hero) learned from his mistakes and made the sequel with a well balanced cast.Sylvester gives a good performance ,more mature than his previous one.Jason Statham & the rest are great too.Jean Claude as the villain was excellent.Though the movie promised a larger cast that included Bruce Willis,Arnold S,Chuck Norris ,Jet Li ,they all turned out to be just cameo roles.

The story for Expendables 2 was average.But it was a huge improvement over the first part.Its simplistic and allows the action to be the front runner at all times.

Direction was good.The pacing was uneven though.There are dragging scenes littered here and there ,but the action scenes will provide enough excitement to keep you charged throughout the movie.

The action scenes were well placed and choreographed.Unlike the first part which just went over the top with the explosions ,the sequel keeps much of the action contained and thus keeping the movie fresh.

Overall ,Expendables 2 will be a great watch for action junkies and for fans of the main cast.

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

JAB TAK HAI JAAN (2012) (Guest Review)

Guest Review- Arnab Goswami

JAB TAK HAI JAAN (2012) (Spoilers ahead)

A Yash Chopra brand of love triangle with a contemporary treatment.

AG Rating : to be revealed at the end of the review. (hehe...so read it !!)

The story opens with the 98th bomb defusal by Major Samar Anand (Shah Rukh Khan) who is widely known as 'The Man Who Cannot Die' in the bomb disposal squad fraternity.

Samar is a reserved, quiet and an angry man who fearlessly defuses bombs almost as if he is waiting for that 1 bomb which will blow him to bits and end his life.

He also maintains a diary, which falls into a certain young journalist Akira Rai's (Anushka Sharma) hands, through which we are transported right back to the year 2002 in London,

where we see a much younger Samar Anand as a struggler who does turns as a snow shoveler, a fish seller and also as a waiter.In a rather poetic way and a curious set of circumstances,

we see the gradual meeting of Samar and the daughter, Meera (Katrina Kaif), of a rich businessman (Anupam Kher), their growing friendship and their subsequent love.

Through an unfortunate series of circumstances and also in part due to Meera herself, Samar leaves the country never to return. 10 years later, he becomes 'The Man Who Cannot Die'!

Akira, on knowing his history, decides to film a documentary on him highlighting his daredevilry. A friendship ensues and sooner rather than later, Akira falls in love with him, despite

knowing everything about him. It becomes time for Akira to leave for London and as she leaves, Samar even starts slowly warming up to her and even goes to London when she calls

him there regarding the documentary.

Lightning rarely strikes twice but when it does, it does so terribly. Samar meets with the same unfortunate accident which had in the past led to his departure from London 10 years ago.

Through an unexpected twist of fate, Samar becomes trapped in a time warp via retrograde amnesia and it so happens that the last 10 years during which he was in the army has been erased from his memory completely.

He now thinks Meera has become his wife and calls for her. What happens now ??

Acting

SRK is the backbone of JTHJ. From beginning to end, he plays every part with the utmost conviction and this really shows on screen. As the joyful and carefree Samar to the broody and scrawly bearded Major Samar to the Samar recovering from retrograde amnesia, he

is extremely convincing and also, no one has made army officers look as good as SRK has done. In my opinion, though this is not his best, in the film however, he completely owns it.

And also, SRK has never looked this good on screen. Ever.

Katrina Kaif tried her best but sadly I couldnt envision Samar sacrificing his whole life for her.

Anushka Sharma was her trademark bubbly and cheerful self along with a very good performance overall though her role looked to me to be very unsatisfactory. If it wasnt for Yash Chopra, I dont think she would have done this film.

Music

Challa was the best song in the film in my opinion followed by Jiya Re and then Ishq Shava, Heer was brief but very good. Saans wasnt half as bad onscreen as off it. The best part about the songs is that they arent at all placed inappropriately or needlessly. They are very apt.

Direction

JTHJ shows how great a director Yash Chopra (RIP) truly was. Even with a flawed script, he creates a film that is picture perfect and poetic in every frame. From the 1st scene to the last, it is pure poetry on screen.

I have never seen London look this good on screen. The scene in which the young Samar is introduced was like a breath of fresh air to me with the way the snow had been captured.

The 1st half especially is extremely commendable. It literally flows along like poetry. Several scenes will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat. The way he has envisioned the whole film is a concrete proof that this is his baby, albeit not a perfect one.

The Film

Only Yash Chopra can turn a flawed story like JTHJ into something that, somewhere, somehow manages to touch you. His skilful blending of the visuals and the background score leads to an experience that haunts you long after you have left the cinema hall.

The film is such that you will never be bored. Never. One has to understand that since this film is an old world romance in a contemporary setting, the key aspects of such a romance are unchanged, which explains why Meera does what she does. However, it may hurt the sentiments of a major religion though the chance of that is minor.

AG Rating : 80/100

The AG verdict : Despite a flawed storyline, Yash Chopra concotes an experience of a lifetime which manages to touch you (it did so for me), makes you laugh, makes you cry and haunts you long after you leave the hall !!

ParaNorman (2012)

[one of the best animated movie of all time]

ParaNorman (2012)
IMDB- 7.2
RottenTomatoes- 86%
RJG Rating- 100

Norman ,has a special gift.He can talk to ghosts.

Starring- Kodi Smit,Tucker,Casey Affleck,Anna Kendrick
Director- Chris Butler, Sam Fell

In the era where majority of the animation movies are made with computers ,the stop motion movies are slowly disappearing.In a year theres barely 2-3 that do release ,and out of them very rarely does one become a superhit.Stop motion might not be fancy but if put to good use, as done for Paranorman,it definitely is a heart warming experience.
The animation is brilliant and just smooth.Everything is done neatly and gives the movie the wacky look and 80's effects.The characters are well drawn up and the emotions are perfectly captured and the voice cast do a great job.

Usually its the Pixar movies that rule in the story department ,but this year ParaNorman gives the audience a beautiful tale.The story is original and is a mixture of comedy ,horror and some surprising drama.Its a straight forward story ,but the climax was just outstanding.The story is funny with a slight sprinkle of horror ,but theres enough material to keep both adults & kids entertained.

Direction is top notch.The movie grabs our attention from the very start and doesnt let go till the very end.Add to the fact that the climax was just beautiful ,raises Paranorman to a high level.The pacing of the movie was fast and never dulls in any place.

Overall ,ParaNorman is a brilliant animated movie ,one of the best movies of 2012.A must watch!

Animation- 5/5
Story- 5/5
Direction- 5/5
Comedy- 4/5
Thriller- 4.5/5
Drama- 5/5

24fps vs 48fps

finally i found 2 good examples of 24fps & 60fps videos...
http://www.48fpsmovies.com/high-frame-rate-example-videos/

the 2nd example was small and easy to understand!
what are your thoughts on 48fps?doeit enhance movie viewing or is at just an unwanted enhancement.

try out the fps yourself!
http://frames-per-second.appspot.com/yourself

(PS:Peter Jackson's Hobbit is getting loads of negative response for its 48fps)

FYC Ads

Anna Karenina

Theres not much hope of this movie making it into the Top 10 ,but theres a good chance of Keira Knightley getting a nomination for Best Actress.

Brave #2

Unlike Up & Toy Story 3 ,Brave isnt worthy to get a Best Picture nomination.

TDKR #4

Theres a slight possibility TDKR might edge itself into the Top 10 Best Picture nominees but winning it is quite impossible.
The Nolan Bros deserve a nomination for the Adapted Screenplay.

TDKR #5

The cast of the Dark Knight Trilogy are solid and have given amazing performances.Christian will miss out on Best Actor ,Anne is set for Best Actress for Les Miserables .Gary Oldman ,Micheal Caine & Morgan have been ignored from the days of Batman Begins.Tom Hardy has less than 10%chance to make it through.

Hobbit

Hobbit is a lock for technical awards ,but for the major categories?Based on initial reviews ,Hobbit will make it through for Adapted Screenplay if the competition is light.

Hotel Transylvania

One of the big animated hits of 2012 ,Hotel T has a good chance to be one of the 5 animated movie nominees.

Madagascar 3

Its a great movie and might get a nomination ,but winning it is quite difficult.

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson is a brilliant director and His latest movie has racked up universal praise.Its a guarantee for a Best Picture nomination.

ParaNorman

Easily the best animated movie of 2012,ParaNorman should not only get nominated but also win it.ParaNorman has the edge over the other animated movies ,but its main competition will be Frankenweenie.

This is 40

The movie is yet to be released ,but by initial promos ,it looks like a classic Apatow movie.And Apatow movies dont make it into Oscars however good they might be.If This is 40 turns out to be great ,it might get the Best COmedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, but the Academy wont consider comedies.

Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser

Teaser Trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cDsUvJ9r0

[download 72mb]

http://videos.hd-trailers.net/startrekintodarkness-usajj60sneak_h720p.mov

Poster for Man Of Steel

The poster was unlocked on Facebook on TDKR page.
Theres a unique style in the poster ,and of course Superman in shackles? Cant wait for the trailer on Dec14

pls like my facebook page as well ! RJG Movie & TV Reviews

Twilight ,Skyfall & Lincoln crush new releases

1-Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 ,had another steep decline ,but still managed to edge Skyfall to retain the #1 spot for the 3rd week in a row.The finale collected $17.4million to bring its domestic total to $254million.The movie has made $702million worldwide and is expected to become the highest grossing Twilight movie by next week (Breaking Dawn Part 1- $712million)

2-Skyfall had another great week collecting $17million.Skyfall is now the top grossing James Bond of all time in both domestic as well as worldwide.Domestically the movie has made $246million and is still going very strong.Worldwide the movie stands at $869million and might break into the Billion Dollar Club.

3-Lincoln is doing very well for a biopic.The Steven Speilberg movie made $13.5million in its 3rd week.The biopic has grossed $83million domestically.

4-Rise of The guardians had another disappointing week and managed to collect just $13.5million.The movie has made $105million worldwide.

5-Life Of Pi made $12million to bring its domestic total to $48.3million.Even though the movie is doing slow business in USA ,its expectation lies in the overseas market.Life of Pi has already earned $60million overseas and is still going strong.

Where are the new releases?Brad Pitt's Killing Them Softly flopped ,making just $7million debuted at #7.The movie is about an assassin hired to kill 3robbers.Critics have been divided on the movie.While majority praise the cast ,many were irritated with the loud political tones of the movie.Its rated at 78%.

The Collection ,made just $3.4million and debuted at #10.its rated at 44%.The horror movie which is about a sadistic killer is the sequel to the 2009 movie ,The Collector.Critics have said the movie will be more enjoyable for those who liked the first part.

This week theres no interesting movies for release since all movies are staying clear of The Hobbit ,which is scheduled for the 14th.
The only new release is Playing for Keeps ,which is poorly marketed although it features some A-list stars.Gerard Butler ,Catherine Zeta,Uma Thurman,Jessica Biel star in this romantic movie which centers around football.

So we can expect a similar list next week !

Talaash halts JTHJ & SOS

Talaash [to be a Hit]

Aamir Khan's latest movie ,Talaash opened to above average reviews and a great box office opening.The movie made Rs.48cr in its 3day run.The movie is a cop thriller and reviews says that even though its a good suspense movie ,the second half and the climax was not upto the mark.

[Watch It]


Jab Tak Hai Jaan

JTHJ suffered a steep decline in its collection and only managed to rake in Rs.2cr in its 3rd week.With Talaash's release ,JTHJ suffered a huge blow.With Khiladi786 's release next week ,these might be JTHJ last weeks.The SRK-Yash Chopra movie has made Rs.119cr and as of now is the 5th highest domestic grossing movie of 2012.

1-Ek Tha Tiger -Rs.198cr
2-Rowdy Rathore-Rs.131cr
3-Agneepath-Rs.123cr
4-Barfi!-Rs.120cr
5-JTHJ-Rs.119cr

As for overseas ,JTHJ has made Rs.61.3cr ,and is currently the 4th highest overseas grossing movie of all time.

1-3Idiots -$23.9million
2-My Name Is Khan -$22.15million
3-Don2 -$11.7million
4-JTHJ -$11.million


Son Of Sardaar

Just like JTHJ ,SOS too has taken a beating from Talaash's release.It made Rs.1.9cr and has so far made Rs.103.6cr in its 3 week run.Overseas the movie has made an average collection of $3million

Star Trek:Into the Darkness Poster

The first teaser poster for the much awaited sequel of Star Trek is out!

Titled Star Trek:Into the Darkness ,the movie will bring back the crew from the first movie.JJ Abrams is the director and Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto will play Kirk & Spock.The villain will be played by Benedict Cumberbatch .As to who he plays is still a highly guarded secret.
The movie is set for release on 17th May 2013