Thursday, May 30, 2013

Pirates OTC 5


After making a BILLION Dollars at the box office with its 4th movie , Pirates of the Caribbean 5 was already on the cards.But considering the 4th was the WORST movie of the series ,a new director was being hunted for.Today Disney has said that the new directors would be Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.Never heard of them before?
They are the directors of the Norweign movie Kon-Tiki ,which had got a nomination for Best Foreign Film at this years Oscars.Considering Kon Tiki was about an adventure in the oceans ,i think the duo are very suitable to take up the directing duties of POTC5.

Watchmen (2009)

[a unique superhero movie]

Watchmen (2009)
IMDB- 7.6
RottenTomatoes- 64%
RJG Ratings- 90

Rorschach,a vigilante ,starts an investigation after the death of a fellow vigilante.

Starring- Malin Akerman,Billy Crudup,Matthew Goode,Jackie Earle,Jeffrey Dean,Patrick Wilson
Director- Zack Snyder

The cast werent too well known actors back in 2009.But yet they give a good performance.Jackie Earle as Rorschach was my favorite.Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl2)& Jeffrey (Comedian) were great too.The best thing about Watchmen is that its a tale of 6 heroes ,and all of them have got a considerable amount of screentime and importance.This is mostly due to the excellent adaptation and good casting.

The story for Watchmen is a direct adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel.Watchmen has been considered for years as one of the greatest comic/graphic novel.It was widely considered to unfilmable till Snyder's attempt.The main issue here is the powerful story structure of the comic ,which is hard to limit in the time scope of a standard movie length.Plus the symbolism in the comic was a hard to follow.
Yet even with such challenges ,the movie is one heck of an adaptation.The story is just as dark as the comics and just as intense.It paints a picture of the bleary world the story of Watchmen is set in (alternative 1980's).Its a complex story but its well adapted.

In my opinion ,Watchmen is Zack Snyder's Best Work as of (May 2013).His level of commitment and faithful nature to the original comics is noteworthy.He does his best to mold the movie into the likes of the "unfilmable comic".The end result might not stand upto the comic book ,but we are talking about one of the greatest comic books of all time.
As a movie ,Watchmen is an extremely unique take on superheroes.Its a multiple genre movie ,and its pacing is even.It doesnt rush off but instead takes its time to build up the various plotlines of each character.Its not a normal superhero movie where you expect huge action sequences to pop up every now and then.On the surface its a detective movie ,but as i previously said its a multi layered movie.

The visual effects have been used moderately.Like Zack's previous attempt ,300 ,Watchmen's beauty is tripled with his choice of visual effects.Although Zack has done his best to make Watchmen a movie for all ,most casual viewers wont be satisfied.

Overall ,Watchmen isnt a popcorn flick.Its more of a study on the minds of vigilantes and 'cause and effect' of various actions.

Acting- 4/5
Story- 4.5/5
Direction- 4.5/5
Action- 4.5/5
Drama- 5/5
Suspense- 4/5

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

[death of a franchise]

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) 
IMDB- 5.5
RottenTomatoes- 15%
RJG Ratings- 15

John McClane travels to Russia to get his son out of trouble.

Starring- Bruce Willis,Jai Courtney
Director- John Moore

Bruce Willis is wasted in this movie.By wasted i mean he himself knows this movie sucks.He utters puny dialogues which have no fire and are a pale imitations of his once witty dialogues from the old Die Hard movies.Jai Courtney who plays the son ,isnt too great either.Both prove to be dull and boring.The supporting cast are useless too.

The story for Die Hard5 ,is dull.There are couple of twists at the end ,but till then its just boring.The movie can be cut into 3 long action sequences.The car chase ,the ballroom shootout ,and the Chernobyl site explosions.Add some talking ,and some random half baked villainous idea ,and the result is Die Hard 5.

Direction is poor.All the previous Die Hards were exciting ,but staying awake through Die Hard 5 is a challenge.The pacing of the movie tries to be fast ,but the action is predictable.The poor acting of the cast doesnt help things either.

Overall Die Hard 5 finally marks the death of the 80's franchise.Give this a miss.

Acting- 1/5
Story- 1/5
Direction- 0.5/5
Action- 2.5/5

Monday, May 27, 2013

Fast Furious rips apart Hangover

Fast Furious rips apart Hangover
[May 24-26]


#1-It was thought to be a tight match between the two franchises ,but on day 1 itself ,it was clear who would emerge as the winner.Fast & Furious 6 made a brilliant $98.5million ,which is a series record (Fast 5 made $86million).This is one of the rare franchises that actually continues to grow with each installment.In 2011 ,Fast 5 shocked critics by scoring a solid 78%. Although it was never expected that F&F 6 could do the same ,the 6th installment scored 72%!
(For an action movie about cars that previously scored 52,36,35,27 ,this is certainly a great improvement).
Critics were pleased with Fast 6's action and humour.This is also Dwayne Rock's 4th HIT OF 2013! (Pain & Gain,Snitch ,GI Joe2 were the others).Rock has been on a powerful streak and certainly his midas touch is still strong!
Fast Furious 6 is a big hit overseas too ,making $177million for an overall gross of $275million ,thus safely crossing its budget of $160million.

#2-Hangover 3 crashed landed with just $42million ,which is the lowest debut for the Hangover series.The public seemed to have learnt their lesson after 2011's horrible Hangover2.
Hangover 3 was no better ,scoring just 21%.The movie reduced its comedy and instead turned into an action thriller movie.But this change was still of no use ,as the movie was still garbage.The movie has made a worldwide gross of $73million of its budget of $103million.

#3-Star Trek Into Darkness had an expected fall ,but still managed a healthy $38million.But the sequel is falling behind its 2009 predecessor.Star Trek has so far managed to make $249million worldwide.

#4-Epic ,the 3rd animated movie of 2013 ,made an average opening of $34million.It has been receiving average reviews ,with most saying its a predictable movie and mostly aimed for kids ,and the only good point is its animation.Epic has made $77million of its $100million budget ,and it looks good enough to recover its budget.

#5-IronMan3 continued its weekly descent ,as it managed to make $19.5million.But the movie's powerful start has boosted it off into a great height.Making domestically $367million and $774million overseas ,IM3 has made $1.142billion making it the 5th highest grossing movie of ALL TIME.Its next target is Harry Potter 7 Part2( $1.341billion).


2013 Top 5
#5-A Good Day to Die Hard -$303million
#4-G.I. Joe: Retaliation -$358million
#3-Oz The Great and Powerful -$489million
#2-The Croods -$562million
#1-Iron Man 3 -$1.142 billion (#5 on all time grossing list)


Next week ,its the battle between 2 not so great directors ,aiming for redemption.
First my earlier analysis on the 2:

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-list actors.
- 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.


My pick is--------AFTER EARTH! Mostly its just because we have Will Smith.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

[one of the most the cheesiest and lamest movies of 2013]

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
IMDB- 6.8
RottenTomatoes- 59%
RJG Ratings- 15

Oscar ,a magician, is transported to the land of Oz ,where hes mistaken for a prophesied Wizard

Starring- James Franco,Mila Kunis,Michelle Williams,Rachel Weisz
Director- Sam Raimi

James Franco does an okay job.He gives his usual performance.Nothing great nor noteworthy ,just a walk through role.Mila Kunis gives one of her worst performances of her career.She was utterly lame in the first half and turned even worse in the second half.Be it the cheesy dialogues or the poor makeup ,or the irritating laugh ,Mila screwed this up.She was a wrong choice for this role.Rachel Weisz does a standard evil witch role ,and Michelle Williams does the cliched good queen role.There is no innovative ideas here.The chemistry is zero between James,Mila and Michelle.Zach Braff voicing the flying monkey was the only one worth watching.

The first 30min ,Oscars life in Kansas ,was good ,but what followed next was just plain rubbish.The story is so cliched and cheesy it gets unbearable after a point.It easy to notice that the story is made along the way to fit the background visual effects.Plotholes are numerous and the etire movie reminded me ,of the equally disastrous Alice in Wonderland.But even Alice had some logic within it.The characters for Oz is poorly drawn up.Especially Mila's role.The finale battle climax ,was again stupid and corny.Another irritating thing was how much they tried to make it kid friendly.If this movie was meant for kids below 8 ,well its excusable ,but otherwise its an insult to people who actually know what a story is.

Direction by Sam is poor.Other than the first 30min ,which was in black and white ,the rest was garbage.The entire movie was made with one objective....make a movie about a CGI filled world.Thats all.Very disappointed with Sam.Even for a kid friendly movie ,the movie uses plenty of scare tactics.As with usual Raimi movies ,its the "ugly face pops out of nowhere and screams" type.This was done just to show that this is still a 3D movie.

The visual effects were beautiful.Thats the only plus point for Oz.

Overall ,kids below 8 may enjoy the movie.Oz is a cheesy movie ,give it a miss.

Acting- 1/5
Story- 0.5/5
Direction- 1/5
Action- 3/5
Visual Effects- 4/5
Romance- 2/5
Drama- 1.5/5

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Mama (2013)

[a wasted horror movie]

Mama (2013)
IMDB- 6.3
RottenTomatoes- 66%
RJG Ratings- 45

2 abandoned sisters are reunited with their uncle.But things go wrong as it seems they might have brought someone with them.

Starring- Jessica Chastain
Director- Andrés Muschietti

Mama is led by Jessica Chastain ,who is on a streak of excellent performances.And she doesnt break it with Mama.Jessica's performance holds center stage even though shes playing a cliched role.The kids do an okay job.They dont connect too well with the audience.Other than these 3 ,the rest of the cast do an okay job as well.

The concept of Mama isnt too unique.A spirit protecting kids ,killing people is a formula that has been tried multiple times.The story tries to keep an air of freshness in the first half but it all collapses in the second.The second half is filled with cliches and plot holes.No thoughts are given to even rectify the most obvious plotholes.Scenes such as where a doctor goes to investigate a haunted house in the middle of the night with a flash camera is as predictable as the sunrise.The climax gets even more unbearable as it tries to wrap all the horror with a 'feel good' ending ,which really ruins the horror aspect .

Direction is below average.The second half is riddled with issues.The scare tactics were the cheap ,"pop up out of the corner and scream" type.The movie is based on a scary clip of 2 children finding a ghost in their house.This scene is adapted directly into the movie ,without bothering to apply any logic behind it.The actions of the girls now dont make any sense because in the movie they are sort of friends with the ghost.

Overall Mama had potential ,but loses it entirely in the second half.Give it a watch if you are a horror fan and have nothing else to do.

Acting- 2.5/5
Story- 2/5
Direction- 1.5/5
Horror- 3/5
Drama- 2/5

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Knight Of Cups Pic

First official pic from Christian Bale's next movie -Knight Of Cups!
Directed by Terrence Malick ,the movie stars a bevy of beauties ,such as Natalie Portman,Cate Blanchett,Isabel Lucas,Teresa Palmer,Frida Pinto.
The movie is set for release in the end of 2013.The synopsis isnt yet revealed ,and all we know is that it is a romantic-drama.
Thanks to Christian Bale ~ Baleheads Blog for the pic ,like the pages if you are a bale fan!

Fan Made Posters from Man Of Steel

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

[an action packed space drama]

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
IMDB- 8.3 (Top 250: #158)
RottenTomatoes- 86%
RJG Ratings- 85

Kirk and his crew hunt a terrorist by the name of John Harrison.

Starring- Chris Pine ,Zachary Quinto ,Benedict
Director- JJ Abrams

The strong performances boosts this movie from the start itself.Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock deliver powerful scenes.Benedict as "Harrison" is yet another gem in the movie.He totally rocks the scenes hes in and makes ,"Harrison" a very multidimensional character.Scenes between these 3 are just amazing and forms the core of Star Trek:ID.Supporting actors such as Zoe,Karl,Simon do a good job.

The main story was well written and enough substance within it.The characters have been well written and brought up excellently.All the characters big or small have a good role in Star Trek:ID.The twists and turns kept the audience guessing and at the edge of their seats.The dialogues were well written with Kirk,Spock & "Harrison" getting some really great dialogues.On the downside was the first scene ,which though at first seems like a simple mission ,but infact resonates throughout the rest of the movie.It could have been given a bit more of a proper start than jumping straight into the action.The actions of the first half also get unraveled with the revelations of the second half ,making the first half be a series of convenient plot progressions.The writers could have done a better job strengthening the first half.

Direction by Abrams was good ,but upto his usual standards.The pacing of the movie was uneven in the first half as the movie rolls around with discussions and quick action scenes.But the second half is worth all of the wait (Enterprise stopping mid warp).Abrams brings the best out of his cast and handles the script with care.But unlike the 2009 movie ,this one is more specifically made for Star Trek fans,and for those who have some knowledge of Star Trek history.

The biggest irritation i had with Star Trek:ID ,were the lens flare.Although many have ridiculed Abrams for the overuse of flares ,it seems he doubled the amount in this one.Some action sequences (ex:Klingon fight) were filled with flashing lights and zoomed in shots.I must admit i had a minor headache after watching the movie.

Editing was not too great.The action sequences were brilliant and thrilling.The entire second half is packed with back to back action.The visual effects were stunning ,especially the 'warp-speed'. Another factor i found to be outstanding was the music by Michael Giacchino (Up,Ratatouille,Lost etc).It was really a wonderful addition to various scenes.

Overall, Star Trek:ID falls short of its brilliant predecessor ,but the movie boasts of strong acting performances and action scenes,and is definitely one of 2013's best.

Acting- 4.5/5
Story- 3.5/5
Direction- 3.5/5
Drama- 4.5/5
Action- 5/5
Suspense- 4/5

The Wolverine trailer


Latest trailer for The Wolverine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1NTVIhUQU

The main villain of the movie is the one you see at the end ,called the Silver Samurai.
Im still on the edge on Wolverine.Theres a good chance it could disappoint.

Posters!

Man Of Steel 




The Wolverine 



Batman:Arkham Origins Trailer


First Lengthy full Trailer for Batman:Arkham Origins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pnK8akbd2M

Also confirmed in the game is a more healthier Joker! The trailer was amazing! And the fight was excellent! Great to see the ol Batman back.
But i still am not fully convinced the game will be great ,untill i see some gameplay.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Trek falls short [May17-19]


Trek falls short
[May17-19]

#1-As expected Star Trek Into Darkness grabbed the top spot with $70million ,but this was way below expectations.The movie was expected to make atleast more than $100million.Star Trek is now in a bit of a muddle as it needs to score a powerful second week to keep from being an overall disappointment.Even though the movie had enough juice in it ,and was loved by the majority ,it was the tight competition that ate into Star Trek's collection.
The critics praised the movie for its amazing action sequences ,and the performances of the actors.The movie is currently rated at 87%.
Star Trek is doing a good job globally as well ,as it collected $80million from its debut.As of now ,the movie has made $164million from its budget of $190million.

#2- Iron Man 3 ,continued to fall in a consistent manner ,as it fell by 50% again to a 3rd weekend collection of $35million.The movie has been a roaring hit ,as it crossed the billion mark last week.With $337million from domestic ,and $736million from overseas ,IM3 has made a gross total of $1.073billion ,which ranks it at #9 in all time grossing list.Its next targets are last years Skyfall & TDKR ,and will most probably end its run at #7.

#3-The Great Gatsby too suffered a 50% fall ,as it made $23million.Gatsby is safely out of harms way ,as it has managed to collect its budget of $105million.Gatsby is a low grossing movie for both Leonardo as well as director ,Baz Luhrman.With bigger competition arriving this week ,Gatsby will soon shut down.

#4-Pain & Gain continued to scrape off the leftovers of the box office.Making $3million ,the action movie has so far made $46.5million solely from the domestic market.

#5-Croods made a surprise entry back into the Top 5 by trumping over 42.Croods made $2.75million ,for a overall collection of $550million ,which is the 2nd highest of 2013.

2013 Top 5
#5-A Good Day to Die Hard -$303million
#4-G.I. Joe: Retaliation -$358million
#3-Oz The Great and Powerful -$488million
#2-The Croods -$550million
#1-Iron Man 3 -$1.073 billion (#9 on all time grossing list)

This week we have more blockbusters lined up! And this time its going to be a face-off between two beloved franchises! Hangover & Fast Furious!

First my analysis from earlier this year:

Fast and Furious 6
story- Dom & Team is called upon to nab Letty's gang.
+ the original cast is back after the successful Fast Five.Action Scenes look amazing.
- 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
story-no wedding or bachelor party ,this time the guys go on a road trip to Tijuana.
+looks to be different this time.
- 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.


Which is the RJG PICK OF THE WEEK ? -----Its definitely Fast & Furious 6
Fast Furious is promising some kickass action scenes and some edge of the seat sequences.With a positive rating of 78% ,it seems FF6 is worth watching.
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