Django Unchained (2012)

[another classic from Quentin]

Django Unchained (2012)
IMDB- 8.7 (Top 250- #43)
RottenTomatoes- 89%
RJG Rating- 100

A bounty hunter frees a slave named Django ,to assist him in capturing some outlaws.

Starring- Jamie Foxx,Christoph Waltz,Leonardo DiCaprio
Director- Quentin Tarantino

Django Unchained is fueled by all round brilliant performances.Powerful acting.Although Jamie Foxx plays the lead character ,Christoph Waltz is so central to the story that he too should be considered a lead hero.Jamie Foxx is brilliant and this is one of his best performances since his Oscar winning role in Ray.Christoph Waltz once again dishes out a smashing performance as Dr. King Schultz.Unlike the last time ,where he played Col.Hans Landa in Quentin's Inglourious Basterds ,he plays a more positive but still an equally memorable role.Leonardo DiCaprio plays his first fully fledged villainous role as Calvin Candie.And he just nails it.He matches up to both Jamie & Christoph ,and seeing all 3 together is just amazing!Samuel Jackson arrives a bit late to the story ,but that doesnt stop him from stealing the show in many scenes!

Quentin has written a long story with plenty of his usual trademarks.The funny take on a serious issue ,the gore ,the standoffs ,the gun battle ,the long talks,and plenty more.But this story is captivating and tells us a tale that has so much depth and twists are aplenty.Theres plenty of time devoted to character development and that makes the movie feel even more deep.Learning a bit about each person ,paints a even more larger picture of their past ,and Quentin has done it beautifully.The dialogues are spot on ,and just powerful and witty too.

Direction by Quentin is top class.With Django Unchained, he has once again made a cult classic that easily joins up in the ranks of his previous movies such as Kill Bill,Inglourious,Pulp Fiction etc.The movie is almost 3hrs long ,and most movies that deal with the subject of Django ,might get a bit boring ,but this one doesnt get dull even for a second.From start to finish ,its either funny,dramatic,action packed or romantic ,Quentin does his best to include all the genres into this Old West themed movie.Quentin has shot this entire movie in top style.

The cinematography is beautiful.The action scenes are well shot and the gun battles were intense.There is plenty of gore ,especially in the second half ,but all are elemental to the movie's tale.The music selection is another high point for Django.From classic to raps ,Quentin utilizes a variety of music to enhance the scenes ,and it all hits the mark!

Overall ,Django Unchained is a must watch movie.This is one immediate classic.

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

Oscar Nominations- 5

Best Picture
Best Original Screenplay- Quentin Tarantino
Best Supporting Actor- Christoph Waltz
Best Cinematography
Best Sound Editing

Oscar Snubs

Though 2012 was a tough race ,with many brilliant movies coming out ,The Academy still made loads of idiotic choices by overlooking some deserving performances and movies.Check this video to find those who got snubbed this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j17a2fFFJQA

Matru Ki Bijlee Box Office

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola

The first potentially big movie of 2013 ,opened to mixed reviews.While Pankaj Kapur's performance was praised ,the slow first half & Imran's performance was critisised.The movie had a slow start but has made Rs.22cr in the first weekend.

[One time Watch]

This week 2 more movies will give competition ,Inkaar & Mumbai Mirror.

Latest news from Dexter

For those of you who hate the long wait for the new season,heres a good news.Dexter Season 8 will premiere on June 30 ,instead of the usual start in October.

In addition to this, the producers might be hinting that Season 8 might not be the finale as earlier thought and Season 9 might just happen.Earlier Dexter creator ,Sara Colleton, had said Season 8 will end the tale of Dexter.

Hunger Games 2 & Wolverine

 

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

[a childish & bland movie]

Hotel Transylvania (2012)
IMDB- 7.1
Rottentomatoes- 43%
RJG Rating- 30

Count Dracula ,builds a lavish hotel to house the monsters from their

Starring- Adam Sandler,Andy Samberg,Selena Gomez
Director- Genndy Tartakovsky

Animation is quirky and colorful.The characters are nicely created ,but arent so great.Its the usual bland set of characters.It doesnt try to be innovative in any way and just settles for what is easily available.

The story is very poor.The concept was good but it was poorly built upon.It is too childish and doesnt take upon any twists.It actually is a poor mash up of various movies.From start to finish its predictable and there is absolutely nothing new.

Direction by Genndy Tartakovsky is poor.He takes the easy way out by catering this movie only for kids. And being a comedy-horror movie ,its neither.There is hardly anything funny throughout the duration of the movie.The pacing of the movie is fast though, it makes full utilization of its 90min.

Overall ,Hotel Transylvania is a poor movie but will be fun for the kids.

Animation- 3/5
Story- 1/5
Direction- 1/5
Action- 3/5
Comedy- 1/5

Zero Dark Thirty makes a big surprise

Zero Dark Thirty makes a big surprise 

[Jan11-13]

1-Even though Zero Dark Thirty has been playing in limited cinemas for a couple weeks since Christmas ,it opened nationwide on the weekend.And the movie has made $24million ,which is well above all expectations.After this weeks Oscar nominations ,ZDT managed to pick 5 nominations ,and this is one of the reasons for the movies great opening.The movie has been critically praised ,and Jessica Chastain has already won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for ZDT.The movie has a rating of 93%.

2-A Haunted House made a good opening too.With $18.8 million,Haunted House came 2nd.The movie has already been given the title of the Worst movie of 2013.With a rating of just 09% ,its been universally panned.But with a budget of $2.5million ,the movie is already reaping profits.

3-Gangster Squad opened below expectations with $16.7 million.Though stylish and action packed ,the movie was said to be suffering from a weak script and poor direction.With a rating of just 34% ,the movie will drop steeply in the coming days.

4-Django Unchained managed to make just $11million on its 3rd week.With this the movie has made $125million domestically ,making it Quentin's highest grossing movie in the US.

5-Les Miserables made $10million to bring its worldwide gross to $238million.The movie might have a good hold for the next couple weeks after Huge Jackman & Anne Hathaway's win at the Golden Globes.

Hobbit 1 has now made a worldwide total of $886million ,and has overtaken Fellowship of the Ring($869million). Next in line is Two Towers with $923million.

This week we have 4 different movies.My Pick Of the Week will be---

1-Silver Linings Playbook:This movie has been running in limited cinemas for a couple of weeks and it has racked up excellent reviews.Also this is the first movie in almost 30 years to get nominated in all 4 acting categories for the Oscars.Directed by David Russell (the Fighter) ,this is a comedy/romance/drama movie and has a rating of 91%.This is RJG's PICK OF THE WEEK

2-Mama is a horror movie produced by Guillermo del Toro.The story is about 2 girls who are found in the forest after their mother was murdered.No reviews are out for this movie but after seeing the short movie on which this movie was based on ,Mama might turn out to be good.

3-Broken City features A-List Actor ,Mark Wahlberg & Russel Crowe.Directed by Allen Hughes (Book of Eli) ,this is crime thriller.This looks like a movie with nothing great to offer ,its not being promoted very well either.No reviews out yet.

4-Finally we have The Last Stand ,which is action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger's first lead movie after 2003's Terminator 3.This action movie is looking to make a big debut ,but it also looks like nothing new or innovative.No reviews out yet.

2013 Golden Globes Winner

The 2013 Golden Globes kept all happy ,awarding all the major movies.Argo & Les Miserables were the highlights though.

Ben Affleck was snubbed earlier this week by the Oscars ,but he was selected as the Best Director for his movie Argo.The movie later went on to nab The Best Film Drama as well.
Les Miserables was another big winner winning Best Film- Musical/Comedy.Huge Jackman (Best Actor Musical) & Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting actress) won too.
Django Unchained grabbed 2 deserving awards for Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz) & Best Screenplay (Quentin).
Lincoln ,Zero Dark Thirty & Silver Linings won awards for Best Actor Drama, Actress Drama & Actress Comedy respectiveley.
Life of Pi got the Best Score while Skyfall's theme song won Best Song.Brave suprisingly won the Best Animated movie.

In the TV section, Homeland ,Game Change & Girls were the big winners.

Click to read the Full List

Flight (2012)

[powerful movie by Denzel & Robert]

Flight (2012)
IMDB- 7.4
Rottentomatoes- 77
RJG Rating- 85

A pilot miraculously crash lands a plane ,but further investigations bring up troubling evidences.

Starring- Denzel Washington
Director- Robert Zemeckis

Denzel Washington is the heart of the movie.Its his performance thats powers the movie from start to finish.Being an excellent actor he doesnt disappoint at all.Kelly Reilly as Nicole ,gives a good supporting role too.The rest of the cast ,Don Cheadle ,John Goodman & Bruce Greenwood ,all give good performances too.

The story for Flight is an interesting look into alcohlism. These story is nicely written.Its dramatic and intense.The character Denzel plays ,Whip Whitaker ,is excellently developed in the course of the movie.

Robert Zemeckis, returns to live action direction after almost 12 years,(his last live movie being Castaway).Once again his direction is excellent.Just like Tom Hanks in Castaway ,Robert brings the best out of Denzel Washington for Flight.Robert captures the dual natured behavior of the hero in his fight against alcoholism.The first half which is about the Plane crash is exciting and quite intense ,while the second half is about the hero's fight against alcoholism which is dramatic.On the downside,Flight lags a bit in the second half ,and seems a bit too long.

Overall ,Flight is an engrossing drama powered by Denzel. A must watch if you like character movies.

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

Oscar Nominations -2

Best Actor- Denzel Washington
Best Original Screenplay- John Gatins

Great News for Jurassic Park Fans!

The team behind Jurassic Park 4 have confirmed that the movie will be made and will be released on June 13, 2014.

It has been almost 12 years since the 3rd part ,and fans have been waiting for a 4th anxiously.But things got worse when ,writer Michael Crichton passed away.
But Steven Speilberg hired writers to churn out a script and now it seems ,everything is ready.
But Speilberg ,who directed JP 1 & 2 ,will not be directing since he has his hands full with Robopocalypse.Joe Johnston (director of JP3) isnt confirmed either ,but he says that JP4 will be a totally new approach compared to the previous 3 and will feature new characters.

This is 40 (2012)

[more of a drama than a comedy]

This is 40 (2012)
IMDB- 6.4
Rottentomatoes- 51%
RJG Rating- 60

The changes in a couple's lives as they near the age of 40.

Starring- Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann.
Director- Judd Apatow

Leslie Mann & Paul Rudd do an excellent job as the lead actors.Both are fantastic comedy actors and they succeed at giving weight to the comic as well as dramatic sequences.Megan Fox has a short ,but she gives good support to the leads.Maude & Iris Apatow do a great job as well.All in all ,the cast is solid.

The story not only has a good concept ,it has enough substance in it too.But both arent mixed together very well.Comedy is light and almost disappears by the second half.And at more than 2hr ,the movie seems too long.

Judd Apatow usually brings out meaningful comedy,but this time he screws it up.He brings out the best from the cast ,but the story is a letdown.While the usual Apatow comedy is present ,it lacks the punch.The movie is not a full blown comedy ,but more of an adults drama mixed with Apatow gags.And towards the second half it drags quite a bit.On a more positive note ,the music selection was quite good.

Overall ,if you expect a comedy movie of the likes of Knocked Up or 40 year old Virgin ,you might be disappointed,but its still worth a watch.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 2.5/5
Direction- 3/5
Drama- 3.5/5
Comedy- 2/5
Romance- 3.5/5

News on Interstellar

At the moment, its almost certain that Christopher Nolan has taken up on the Interstellar project.

As earlier reported ,the original story was written by Jonathan Nolan, in 2009, for Steven Speilberg.But as Steven wont be directing the movie ,Christopher Nolan will be taking up the story and re-writing it.Its being said that Chris will merge his brother's story ,with a story he already had in mind.The brothers have earlier collaborated the writing duties in movies such as Prestige ,The Dark Knight & more recently The Dark Knight Rises.

So far the synopsis of Interstellar:

A heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest borders of our scientific understanding.


Sounds a bit like Inception!

85th Academy Award Nominees

Best Picture

Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Lincoln
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Expected Winner-Lincoln
RJG Pick-Life of Pi

Check out the rest HERE

Nolan's next movie -INTERSTELLAR ?

Christopher Nolan being one of the best directors of all time,and after his ground breaking movies ,the public is awaiting his next project with bated breath.

Rumors have it that ,Christopher Nolan will tackle a sci-fi movie by the name of INTERSTELLAR next.
The story is said to be written by his brother Jonathan Nolan and is based on the scientific theories of Kip Thorne ,a astrophysicist.

The story will be about a group of explorers who travel through wormholes into different time dimensions.

This sounds like a movie ,Nolan usually tackles.His earlier movies have tackled different dimensions (Inception,Prestige).With Jonathan writing (He has written for Memento,Prestige,TDK ,TDKR) ,and being a science lover himself ,this might be Christopher Nolan's next big movie!


Kip Thorne's theories first led Steven Speilberg to make a movie about wormholes and explorers.In 2007,the story was written by Jonathan and now ,Christopher Nolan was said to take the project up.As of now it is unclear whether Steven will be involved in the movie or not.

Like- https://www.facebook.com/INTERSTELLAR.NOLAN

Dredd (2012)

[short,bloody and intense]

Dredd (2012)
IMDB- 7.2
RottenTomatoes- 78%
RJG Rating- 85

Judge Dredd & a new recruit,Anderson ,are trapped in a large building controlled by a fearsome gang.

Starring- Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby
Director- Pete Travis

Karl Urban as the title character has done a both good and a kind of negative approach to the role.Dredd is a character that is a tough as nails type of guy.While Karl has done a spot on take on Dredd ,watching Karl as Dredd is equal to seeing a wooden face on screen ,barely moving.Karl still delivers his lines perfectly.Olivia makes up for the missing face of Karl.She does a great job ,and at times steals the show from Dredd.Lena Headey as the villain is great too.Very rarely do we get a powerful female villain like Lena's character.

The story is great ,but for those who have seen the Indonesian action flick ,Raid Redemption ,Dredd will give you a strange sense of deja vu.Both movies are very different ,but many scenes and settings are almost exactly from Raid.Anyways Dredd has a good story and the concept of the futuristic cities were well presented.The punchlines were terrific and Karl delivered them excellently.

Direction by Pete Travis ,has been pretty great.Bringing a character such as Dredd into the big screen is a difficult job that can usually end up as an over the top action movie without much sense.But _ has made a movie that not only sets the right atmosphere ,but also has a fast pace ,short,bloody and intense.

Overall ,Dredd is an excellent supercop action movie.

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