Fantastic Four

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I will miss Chris Evans and Jessica Alba while watching this new version.

Vampire Bat :: Chris Evans is Captain America. You won’t miss him. If he returns as the Human Torch, you will miss the Captain a lot more and might even make the decision to skip Marvel forever.

Vampire Owl :: I will just miss Jessica Alba then.

Vampire Bat :: Well, it is fair, because I miss her too.

[Gets the tickets and cheese popcorn].

✠ This review was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com: http://kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/986-fantastic-four-movie-review.html

Having the history of an unreleased film in 1994 and adding another reboot and a sequel in 2005 and 2007 which had not much critical appreciation, Fantastic Four doesn’t really have history going in its favour. At least, the two movies could come up strong at the box-office. But one has to feel very strange about this new movie which currently has neither the support of the critics or the audience. With the movie clearly underperforming at the United States box-office, it is yet to be seen how it performs in some other territories, as it released on August 21st, the Friday in India.

Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) have been best friends from childhood, and have worked on building a teleporter for a very long time. Reed has been the brain of this idea which was consistently rejected by their science teachers, until Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) finds the ability in him, as he was already working on this same idea. His adopted daughter Susan Storm (Kate Mara) and his own son Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), along with Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) work with Reed on developing a giant teleporter called the Quantum Gate which would connect the human world to another dimension.

They are successful in creating the path to this dimension, but when the head of the facility Allen (Tim Blake Nelson) decides to send a group of astronauts from NASA to explore the new world, the scientists decide to become the first people to reach the new world, just like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were on the Moon. But as they reach this new dimension, the place is full of strange materials and Victor is absorbed into its source of energy. The rest escape, but four of them undergo big changes. They wake up in government custody, and Reed runs away while others are trained to control their powers. But the connection with the other world won’t cease to exist.

This 2015 version is not as bad as most of the reviews suggest, but it is not that good either. People will surely find the earlier version a lot better than this one. It had many advantages over this one, and the most significant one being the actors. The cast which involved Jessica Alba and Chris Evans was a joy to watch, but the same is not the case here. Except for Jamie Bell as The Thing, nobody really makes a big impact in this version. Kate Mara looks very good in that suit, and has her moments. Michael B. Jordan is no Chris Evans, and Miles Teller is not really there either. Toby Kebbell makes an impact much later, only with the mask on him.

The movie also takes a lot of time to get to the interesting part. The first half is more like a stretch which moves slowly towards the possible destination. It struggles to get to the point right through the beginning to the middle. Even after that, the story is not completely there. The beginning of the second half is that point at which the movie should have reached within half an hour. It would have been okay if the beginning was rather interesting, but it couldn’t manage to be so. This goes different and still it is predictable. The action only happens when the movie is close to the finish, and by the time the origins are established, it has ended.

The movie chooses inter-dimensional travel, which is a bold move and a welcome change, even though it is not that well implemented. The special effects are nice, even though there are limitations. There are not much of the superpowers used to display these effects. Still, the power to entertain is there, and the villain does make a better impact in this avatar which is superior to the 2005 version. The villain looks like a true challenge to the four right from the moment his other side is awakened. This version is also darker, which is a positive change. With the consistent struggles and only having the interesting moments here and there, may be this origins story can bring a better sequel.

This Fantastic Four reboot will have a tough time making an impact considering the fine quality which has been maintained by the superhero movies in the past. Even the earlier two movies featuring Fantastic Four were much ahead of this one. So the expectations were a lot higher here with hope to bring something to remember. This is not really a movie that go terrible, but just something that doesn’t go big enough. It can be considered mostly average, but the situation demanded more. In the end, there is something about which the audience can be sure about; it is the fact that among the Marvel comics based superheroes, this one is clearly a level down.

Release date: 21st August 2015 (India); 7th August 2015 (USA)
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson, Dan Castellaneta, Tim Heidecker

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Brothers

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: But wasn’t the original called Warrior?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but this is called Brothers. Family sells more than the others in Bollywood. So, having it in the title itself is a positive to bring the audience.

Vampire Owl :: So, tell me about the original.

Vampire Bat :: But I haven’t watched the original.

Vampire Owl :: What? Why? I don’t believe it. There is no reason why you might have missed that movie.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, I understand that there was no reason, but some things happen for no reason, and this one didn’t happen for some reason which was not there.

Vampire Owl :: You should watch it some time.

Vampire Bat :: May be, but these days, I am not sure what I should watch and what I shouldn’t.

Vampire Owl :: That is a heavy crisis.

Vampire Bat :: Well, I have watched so many movies at the theatres, and I wonder what is the point other than to lose your existence in this world and live thinking about those flicks which can erase you sooner or later with no benefits.

[Gets the tickets].

What is it about? :: This official remake of the 2011 movie Warrior begins with talks about starting a new fighting league in India giving the fighters the right to fight, and meanwhile, Gary Fernandes (Jackie Shroff), an old man and a former fighter is released from prison. He is welcomed by his younger son Monty Fernandes (Sidharth Malhotra) who is hoping to prove himself in the world of street-fighting. His other son, David Fernandes (Akshay Kumar) is not in terms with his brother and father though, and lives separately with his wife Jenny Fernandes (Jacqueline Fernandez) and their little daughter who is suffering from kidney failure. He is working as a teacher, but can’t find enough money for the treatment of his daughter, and decides to go fighting as he used to do a long time ago.

Where it goes :: With the new league being formed, the two brothers try in their own ways to get into the competition, as the younger one has a viral YouTube video in his favour and the elder takes over the spot which was left open by an injury inflicted to a star fighter by the younger one. While Monty enters the tournament as the brute with strength, aggression and a never give up attitude, David enters the same with experience and a defensive strategy, using counter-attack, grapples and evasion as his strengths – he is powered by his family’s needs and the support of his students while Monty has the strength of his willpower and hate for his brother who abandoned him. With international fighters also being part of the tournament, can one of these brothers win it without going on to destroy the other? Where will the father stand in this battle of brothers?

The defence of Brothers :: There are many levels in which the movie works, and first and the most efficient one is the emotional side, which exists throughout the movie. It is powerful with the beginning, and gets stronger only to reach its zenith by the climax and the finish. The second one is the message about the family which also exists strong enough. The third is the action which is also powerful and gory, even though more could have been considering the stage. The transformation into the action stage is quite good, with the arena setting which is of high quality – the details related to this are very well done. The background is also well established, and the family man’s problems are well portrayed to create another level of emotional sequences. Brothers surely is successful in creating the desired effect on the audience, no matter where it stands in comparison with the original – the adrenaline rush is huge.

Claws of flaw :: The worst thing that has happened for this movie is the item song from Kareeena Kapoor which is not only bad, but also not suitable for this movie. One has to wonder why Bollywood thinks that it is important to bring an item song everywhere, even when the material is officially remade from Hollywood. There is also that flashback which is too long, and the relationship could have been established easily without this long a background. The movie could have been kept shorter that way, or some more fights could have been added; there is also scope for adding more to the elder’s teaching life and the younger’s daily lamentations. There are clichés, and you can predict when these two will come against each other, and may be even about how it will end; yes, without reading the story-line in Wikipedia. There was more scope for the action scenes, instead of rushing through Monty’s sequences too quickly.

Performers of the soul :: As expected, do look out for Akshay Kumar in this movie as is right there with full strength as one of the two protagonists. His sequences with his wife and daughter are very well created to make that big impact with the families, and he excels throughout, a lot more than the rest of the cast – Only Jackie Shroff comes up with a similar intense performance, as you can see the performance in his eyes itself. Akshay Kumar does very well with all sides, as the family man, as the teacher and the fighter. Jacqueline Fernandez has a smaller, but noticable role which does very well. Sidharth Malhotra has less to talk and has more chance to be part of the action as he is the tough angry young man here. He does that well, but there is nothing much to his character. Shefali Shah and Ashutosh Rana are good too. You already know about Kareena Kapoor in her worst item dance.

How it finishes :: I apologize for not agreeing with most of the reviews out there, even though there is absolutely no need for that. I am just doing it because this movie had a powerful emotional impact on me, which I am releasing in a positive way. I loved the movie’s emotional impact, and the way in which the stage is set for the action which makes the second half better than the first. Well, I haven’t watched Warrior, and so that should be taken into consideration when you look at how I have felt related to this movie. May be, if you have watched that original movie, you will consider this in a different way, but let me tell you that this has a lot for the family as well as the young audience as I see it; I am also sure that Bollywood had a big chance of messing up this remake, but I am glad that they didn’t.

Release date: 14th August 2015
Running time: 159 minutes
Directed by: Karan Malhotra
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff, Shefali Shah, Ashutosh Rana, Kiran Kumar, Kareena Kapoor (special appearance in an item song)

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Hobbit III

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: The journey of one Hobbit and a team of Dwarves continues where the earlier movie had finished with Smaug the Dragon (Benedict Cumberbatch) flying away to bring the chaos to the town. After the dragon being unleashed, and as it goes on destroying the town, Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) manages to slay the creature after continuous attempts, and he himself emerges as the new leader. The Dwarves lock themselves inside the Lonely Mountain as Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) keeps searching for the Arkenstone with no result as it is already with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who hides it seeing Thorin’s change of attitude. Meanwhile, Thranduil (Lee Pace) arrives with an army of elves in hope to retrieve a stolen Elf treasure.

And what follows? :: While providing aid to the people of the town, he forms an alliance with the humans who wish to have that share of the gold which was promised by the Dwarves. Even though Bard tries to reason with Thorin, he doesn’t agree with the terms as he claims the whole treasure for himself and stays adamant. He would go for war instead of peace, and the arrival of Thorin’s cousin Dáin (Billy Connolly) with an army of Dwarves only make the situation worse. With Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) already imprisoned by the forces of darkness, and the huge army of Orcs lead by Azog the Defiler (Manu Bennett) and their secondary army along with Goblins coming closer, can anything positive come out of this for Elves, Humans or Dwarves?

The defence of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies :: We all know what The Hobbit is all about, and it is extremely difficult to mess things up here. One big advantage that this movie has compared to its predecessors is that it is the shortest among them all. The visuals are once again of the highest quality, and the battle sequences are really good. There is the grand battle which involves Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Humans, and there is a lot of detail right there and what follows. An epic battle was needed, and this one surely delivers that. There is also focus in the minds of the characters and their attitudes here. The attention on the creature detail is also impressive, as we see many creatures around which are worth having further look at.

Claws of flaw :: Among the three movies, this one has the least happenings outside action. There should have been more focus on the plot which seems to go in a predictable way. There is a little bit of emptiness here and there which is masked only by the visual beauty. The dragon gets slain quite early, and things just continue in a predictable way, with armies coming on to clash, as the story goes right where it was expected to go. The romantic angle remains its biggest flaw, as it is forced and it seems so – as we know that the elf lady herself is an extra character added here. Unlike what is shown, it is more like an irritating case of love rather than what has been intended. It is a case of terror for the entire realm, and one has to wonder if it is a priority when these two are around.

Performers of the soul :: As expected, Martin Freeman plays the main character, but the focus is more on Richard Armitage nicely making Thorin Oakenshield impressive. Together, they make the whole thing better. Orlando Bloom has some of the most stylish action sequences in the movie, and his one-on-one battle with the orc is a joy to watch. Ian McKellen’s Gandalf the Grey continues to do what he has been doing all the time. Luke Evans has some interesting moments of glory in this one too. Evangeline Lilly’s Tauriel is good, but the character’s romantic side completely devastates the situation. Meanwhile, the rest of the dwarf team remains good and effective. The rest of the humans make much lesser impact. The best performer in the movie might still be the CGI.

Soul Exploration :: The major idea remains the same as the stage is set for the battle between good and evil. This is once again about the good overcoming the evil, and the stress is once again on the need for courage and sacrifice, as well as the value of comradeship and mutual help. The hope to go beyond the differences is also there, and it gives that message to get rid of the hatred between races and work together for a better future – it actually works here, and what seems to be only a chance earlier, does come to the light in this case. Unity in diversity is the point here too. Even though the force is mostly on Thorin Oakenshield to do the right thing, the rest also got to make their own decisions here that would affect the outcome.

How it finishes :: The franchise had started with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and continued through The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and has now finished at The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in an interesting way – may be people expected better, but this is still a very good finish. The one thing which you have to keep in mind is that this is more action movie than the rest of the franchise, and you should have watched the previous movies before this one, because the action starts directly and very quickly in this one. It has finished second after Transformers: Age of Extinction with the box-office collections of the year, but The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is surely the better flick by some distance.

Release date: 17th December 2014
Running time: 144 minutes
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Graham McTavish, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Sylvester McCoy, Manu Bennett, John Tui, Billy Connolly, Mikael Persbrandt, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Mitchinson, John Bell, Peggy Nesbit, Mary Nesbitt, Simon London

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: Matthew Scudder (Liam Neeson) is someone who used to be an aggressive police officer in the early 1990s. But now, eight years later, he is a recovering alcoholic and is approached by Peter (Boyd Holbrook) for his brother, a drug trafficker called Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) whose wife Carrie (Razane Jammal) was kidnapped and murdered despite the ransom fee being paid at the right time. The fact that he got his wife as pieces inside the trunk of a car makes his hope for vengeance that stronger, and Matthew who works as an unlicensed private detective is the one he looks out for help. Despite the initial reluctance, he takes the case and starts collecting clues. It turns out that Carrie is not the first one to suffer the fate, and neither will she be the last.

The defence of A Walk Among the Tombstones :: The return of Liam Neeson in another thriller might be reason enough for this movie to defend itself in front of the fans. It is the protagonist played by him that once against manages to be outstanding. As a crime-drama thriller, this one is more artistic and having strong emotional moments which add to the thrills very well. The movie nicely progresses with its strengthening factors until the nice finish has been reached. The links between the brutal murders are well connected in a realistic way rather than bringing some big clue out of nowhere. The lack of goodness in this grey or darkness-aligned world is well portrayed in this movie which successfully shows some signs of hope by the end, but not before going through the test. There is no unrealistic action sequences in this one, and don’t look for it.

Claws of flaw :: The movie is surely slow, and despite having a certain beauty about its pace, it is still slow and so it is surely not for the fans of Liam Neeson’s other movies like Non-Stop, A-Team and that popular Taken franchise – it is not Unknown or The Grey either. So, people who don’t like to have an artistic and realistic touch instead of those exaggerated sequences, are surely going to be disappointed. This doesn’t go the The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en way either, even though the serial killers and violence to victims are there along with the inquiries into the same – there is not much of the gore on the screen despite the idea being used. There is also a certain lack of the background to the killers, and the ending could have been more intense – it is surely satisfying and peaceful, but there could have been more strength to it.

Performers of the soul :: Liam Neeson is the man in control once again. It is completely about how his character go through these situations in his own way. It should be his name which might have brought the attention here, and he is perfectly fit for his character. This will remind you of some of the other characters he has played, but only here and there – he goes a lot more realistic in this one. He keeps avoiding all chances of getting into a fight, so much that once he keeps getting beaten up while not even trying to resist until he speaks when given a chance. He talks against violence and revenge so often in this movie, and hopes to keep himself always straight forward and also support even the not so good people in a positive way – even with similarities in the role, it is not your powerful action star here! Brian Bradley’s character was kind of strange and often irritating, but the rest worked well in this movie.

Soul Exploration: The problems of being a good person :: The main character himself is firmly rooted in disappointment as well as guilt, as he goes through what he should have done earlier during his times as a police officer, to reach the salvation that he intends to. He never hopes for that though, as he is without a direction, doing just random things for no reason, instead of having a purpose. You can see that feeling on his face throughout the movie, as Liam Neeson does that to perfection with ease. It is about people with high potential never being realized, and they end up being lesser achievers than they deserve to be, while there is no limits to what the liars, cheaters and back-stabbers can achieve in this world of chaos – and they are appreciated for the same. But good people always have to suffer and struggle even for the smallest mistakes.

Soul Exploration: The difficulty in finding goodness :: There is a certain amount of darkness and sadness which prevails throughout this movie, and almost nobody in this movie is a happy person, and not many good things happen around here – it is a clear reflection of what the life is, a pure situation of hopelessness were only the richest, powerful and those who can lie really well thrive in this world and the good ones as well as the grey ones who mostly infest this movie will suffer because they are rarely considered important. We are all going to suffer one day, may be in the hands of those who are just evil, or otherwise the rich who wants to feed on those who are not that rich or the system itself. Goodness is not valuable in this world, and at the end of our times, we are going to suffer for the presence of goodness and die.

How it finishes :: “People are afraid of all the wrong things” – this dialogue sets the mood for the movie a few minutes into the action, as it has that kind of evil that should be feared more than many others because it is random and naturally existing in most of the humans. The movie reflects this statement, as it goes steady and solid throughout, and keeps its power in its smooth movement towards the end, and the feeling that the audience has remains the same till the end. This one is also a fine opportunity to see Liam Neeson in his most human form as far as his action thrillers are concerned. A Walk Among the Tombstones is fine addition to the list of thrillers in which the man has acted in, and you can watch this one and find out where it features in that interesting list.

Release date: 19th September 2014
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Scott Frank
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Boyd Holbrook, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Brian Bradley, Eric Nelsen, Mark Consuelos, Adam David Thompson, Sebastian Roché, Laura Birn, Danielle Rose Russell, Razane Jammal, Kim Rosen, Natia Dune, Genevieve Adams, Lana Delaurent, Al Nazemian, Jolly Abraham, Frank De Julio, Whitney Able

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

MI: Rogue Nation

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: We have been missing the impossible.

Vampire Bat :: Well, we haven’t tried anything impossible for some time.

Vampire Owl :: Actually, we take no risks except when watching those terrible movies.

Vampire Bat :: Well, everyone can’t be Tom Cruise!

Vampire Owl :: Somehow, he never really gets old.

Vampire Bat :: May be he is immortal too, in another way.

Vampire Owl :: There is that special feeling when we hear that Mission Impossible music; I don’t know what it is.

[Gets the tickets].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com: http://www.kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/947-mission-impossible-5-review.html

We return to the super-hit franchise again. Tom Cruise, the Mission: Impossible franchise and the action movie fans have had a very good relationship in the last few years. Even as the third movie of the series was the least impressive of them all, they successfully made things a lot better with the fourth, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Inspired by a much older television series, Mission Impossible franchise has been making a very heavy impact on the fans since the first movie in 1996. It is no different in the case of this fifth movie which has everyone’s attention ever since the trailer began to show up in the theatres.

As his adventures continue, Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) comes face to face against a dangerous criminal organization called the Syndicate. But despite his best efforts, CIA and other organizations completely deny its existence. Meanwhile, the director of the CIA Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) gets IMF disbanded and taken into the CIA itself, with a mission to catch Ethan as early as possible. At the same time, Ethan is captured by the Syndicate, and is saved by a former MI6 agent working for the criminal organization, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). As IMF is disbanded and CIA is refusing to believe them, Ethan decides to take things into his own hands.

As Ethan remains on the run with CIA on his tail, he almost gets hold of a Syndicate member while attending an opera, but the Chancellor of Austria is killed at the same venue despite his best efforts. At the same time, Ilsa leaves him with clues which will help him to get to her at Casablanca. With the help of his friends Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Ethan has to figure this out and confront the leader of the Syndicate, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). It turns out that the Syndicate is not a regular criminal organization as they thought it was, but something more with origin in secret government organizations.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is exactly the movie of the series that the fans might have wanted for a long time. It is surely intelligent and has a very interesting story despite having no spectacular sequences to finish it – the ending could have had bigger action and the villain also could have been a more menacing one face to face. The highlight of the movie, the sequence with Tom Cruise hanging outside the airplane comes very early. It is just one of those stylish action highlights of the movie which has others like an interesting sequence at an opera, a high voltage motor-bike chase and an underwater heist. These are also done at some of the best locations possible.

We know how well Mad Max: Fury Road managed to be a wonderful full action movie, and this one follows that path using its strength. The rest of the things are just means to this strength, and you can also admire the fact that the smartness of the plot supports it. You should notice how well things come together as the locations shift between different nations – you will love Morocco shown in this movie more than the rest. The sequences are also more believable. I was still a little disappointed that Jeremy Renner doesn’t take part in much of the big action here. But there is enough here to make up for that, and our cast surely does the job very well.

In a movie which has some nice twists and change of sides, Tom Cruise manages to emerge as the awesome action star once again. There is no difficulty there is making us believe in the impossible with this man around. It was great to see Rebecca Ferguson get a role which is very much on par with him, with just lesser in screen presence only to Tom Cruise. She is the best heroine ever in a Mission: Impossible movie and she has a part in almost every action sequence with our protagonist, and at the same time having no romantic side with the hero. She is perfectly suited for this role. She does those stunts in style and also brings the suspense as the person who is the most difficult to figure out in the whole movie. She is the one complicated person on whom the whole mission depends on. She becomes the big advantage that none of the other movies of the franchise had. Along with Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames also has a little too less to do in this flick.

The franchise achieves new heights with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, as the latest flick becomes a superior entertainer in the list of movies which have served us for almost twenty years. There is a certain improvement with this movie, which was thought to be a hard task, but it has been done. It won’t be easy to forget this one soon, as the thrilling experience will stay on the mind of viewers for quite a long time. Even though there have been so many movies with big action sequences, you can still take the level of action to an even higher level – it is not impossible, and this movie proves the same with ease. Look out for this movie this weekend, and it can make you forget Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

[After the movie]

Vampire Owl :: Well, Rebecca Ferguson does save the day more times than Tom Cruise, and that should be a first.

Vampire Bat :: She is too good! Most of the time, her character surely is the smartest one around!

Release date: 6th August 2015 (India); 31st July 2015 (US)
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin, Simon McBurney, Jens Hultén, Tom Hollander

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Loft

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Do you know that the Vampire Crocodile was actually taking about this movie?

Vampire Bat :: Why would he talk about this movie? He was never a vampire too interested in movies.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but he starts fan clubs in the vampire territory.

Vampire Bat :: We also have fan clubs these days?

Vampire Owl :: Well, actually as we are not that dumb as the humans to blindly follow a celebrity, he and the Vampire Hamster are the only members of the organization.

Vampire Bat :: So, what is it this time? A Karl Urban fan club?

Vampire Owl :: No, it is called the Isabel Lucas Friends and Fans Association for the New Vampire World and the Isles of Death.

Vampire Bat :: Well, this is new.

Vampire Owl :: He knows that variety will sell. He has only recently come to know about this movie and is hoping to cheer for her with a huge screen show arranged.

Vampire Bat :: In that case, we can be glad that we are watching it without him.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: Five friends, married men share a loft, which they use for extra-marital affairs. The men are Vincent Stevens (Karl Urban) who is the designer of the building, a psychatrist Dr. Chris Vanowen (James Marsden) who is a reluctant user of the loft, and three others, Luke Seacord (Wentworth Miller), Marty Landry (Eric Stonestreet) and Phillip Williams (Matthias Schoenaerts). When the body of a dead woman is found in that loft, the friends begin to doubt each other as none other than them got the keys to the place; they also wonder if one of their wives or mistresses is involved in the crime. The dead person is Sarah Deakins (Isabel Lucas) who knows them from a bar. Even though it was Vincent who last met the girl, he has no clue of how she ended up like that.

The defence of The Loft :: There is a certain amount of quality and style in how the story is told in this movie. It begins from the murder and the police arrests, and moves on through different timelines to give us clues and finally conclude to a point where everything comes together. There is a intellectual beauty in the narrative style, and you can actually connect these moments well enough while giving attention. There is something here to be suspicious at each of the five characters, their wives, some of the mistresses and even a few businessmen with whom they are involved. It is an entertainer, and there is a big chance that this movie might be remade into one or two Indian languages. So it will only help to have this one watched already instead of having a copy of the feeling that Anwar and Cocktail had original awesomeness when it released, but where just copies of Traitor and Butterfly on a Wheel.

Claws of flaw :: Unlike what some people might think, The Loft is not really an erotic movie; it is very much far away from it and is just the thriller or a mystery, and even with its suspense and the twists, it doesn’t have a huge surprise waiting. Most of the people might have wanted the twists to be even more twisted. The setting could have had more in store, but the finish is just of the quality of an ordinary thriller. The story struggles at some points and it is a missed chance at bringing the mystery to another level. People who are looking at this one as an erotic flick are going to be the more disappointed ones though. Some people can also have trouble with the narrative especially if he or she stops the movie in the middle to watch later. Some of the scenes might have been even made to confuse the viewer into believing that someone with no big relation to the incidents is the murderer.

Performers of the soul :: Karl Urban comes up with a very strong performance here in a movie has most of the characters getting equal importance, and is the pick of them all. It is actually depressing that this movie didn’t get much of box-office collection just like his other good movies – the critical appreciation has also been low. Well, when something like Dredd can’t be a box-office hit, you have to doubt the tastes of the move watchers. He is a very talented actor and needs a better recognition. James Marsden who has been playing Cyclops in the X-Men franchise comes next as he excels in the final moments of revelation. Meanwhile, Wentworth Miller has his moments too as the movie moves towards the finish. The rest of the actors who play the friends also contribute well.

More performers of the soul :: About the actresses who play the wives, they never really gather that much of attention are easily forgotten – still, the one to gather some attention is Kali Rocha. The two main ladies are really good here; Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas, both of them making the desired impact despite the weak characterization. The former has done a good number of horror/thriller stuff and looks very much suitable to her role here – I loved her in Shutter. The latter brings a dazzling effect here, and she has never looked prettier – her role is smaller here, but it is the decision-making one; she has always been there with smaller, but noticeable roles like being the pretender decepticon in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the more significant and touching performance as the subsider vampire in Daybreakers.

How it finishes :: The Loft is an interesting thriller which maintains its collection of twists till the end, and it also works as a morality tale if we look at it from another angle. As you go to ending, even though there is nothing tragic, none of the cheaters in a relationship really manages to get a better life except for one exception and one not doing that bad, depending on how you see it. Being faithful should be considered a very important thing in life, not just with love and relationships, but also to oneself. There is no honour is hurting the people we love just for the sake of something temporary and wrong. In an ultra-modern world, all kinds of relationships go nowhere; remember Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach:
“Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain”

Release date: 14th October 2014
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Erik Van Looy
Starring: Karl Urban, Isabel Lucas, Rachael Taylor, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rhona Mitra, Valerie Cruz, Elaine Cassidy, Kali Rocha, Margarita Levieva, Madison Burge, Kristin Lehman, Robert Wisdom, Ric Reitz, Graham Beckel, Kathy Deitch

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Honeymoon

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I was planning for a Honeymoon with Lady Death myself.

Vampire Bat :: But you are not married yet.

Vampire Owl :: Yet, but it has to happen some day. I am preparing my soul for the same. I have even bought a Suit of Death from Vampire Best Deals.

Vampire Bat :: Do you know that the suit is supposed to prevent death for a few hours?

Vampire Owl :: What? It is not supposed to bring death closer?

Vampire Bat :: No, it is not. The original prototype was used by Uncle Dracula to travel to twenty seventh dimension of eternal death. Vampires and the rest of the undead can’t go through the realms of death without permission from the dead, as it can cause slow disintegration of the vampire body. This suit prevents the same.

Vampire Owl :: What? It is totally unfair. This is going to prevent my Honeymoon from ever happening. Mountain of Death brings death, Isle of Death is known for dealing with death, Valley of Death causes more deaths than any other place, and why is this Suit of Death so much the opposite?

Vampire Bat :: Well, you should have read the full description before buying it. Vampire Raven once bought something and didn’t speak even a word after that.

Vampire Owl :: My honeymoon plans are ruined. You could have at least given me false hope by not letting me know.

Vampire Bat :: Well, we will watch the movie Honeymoon instead.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: A newly married couple, Bea (Rose Leslie) and Paul (Harry Treadaway) finds the right place to celebrate their honeymoon, and it is a cabin in the woods. It seems to be the perfect and extremely peaceful are as they enjoy their time and explore the surroundings. In a small restaurant, they meet Will (Ben Huber) who seems to act strange and his wife Annie (Hanna Brown) who is acts even more weird. One night, Bea goes missing, and later she starts showing some strange behaviour which upsets Paul. She forgets things and write down even basic facts about her life. She often acts opposite to how she had been earlier. Paul sees strange lights at night and feels that a third person is involved. But he finds no real clue anywhere as things don’t get any better.

The defence of Honeymoon :: The movie uses its environment related to the cabin in the woods to come up with the much needed advantage. The two main characters are also made a lot more interesting by the cast. There are a lot of interesting moments between these two characters, and the performances are excellent throughout. The time before the major incident and after that are actually presented in different ways, and it makes us feel the change with a powerful psychological impact. It also leaves a lot of things to our imaginations, and it plays on our mind to know what is wrong, and who is the one actually in trouble here. You feel caught between the two characters, thinking and imagining to recreate what could possibly have gone wrong between the two lovers who seemed so happy and energetic just a few moments ago.

Claws of flaw :: Honeymoon surely drags, and it takes quite a lot of time to get into its more interesting part. Even between the thrills, it goes rather slow. There is a certain amount of beauty about this slowness at times as it adds to the mystery elements, but at some other times, it is not there. The ending is actually a little bit of a let down [A little bit of spoiler stuff to follow even though nothing of heavy dosage] considering the fact that this was going so nice as a psychological thriller-horror movie until the finishing line doesn’t really justify the same, but attributes things to unknown creatures. Even with surprises thrown in here and there, it finally comes to those moments which are rather more predictable, and things become what a good number of people might have thought in the beginning.

Performers of the soul :: The movie needed its performances because it uses them more than anything else due to being a psychological thriller on one side despite being known as a horror movie – may be that ending confused the genres and even added a certain amount of sci-fi to the same. You have to love Rose Leslie in this one, and you once again get to see Game of Thrones‘ own Ygritte doing what she does best; giving the feeling that her husband knows nothing as her character undergoes changes. She has managed two sides of her character so well that we can see the changes clearly and impressively managed. Lets see what she can offer in The Last Witch Hunter – wait for it. Harry Treadaway does a very good job, and the chemistry between them in amazing.

Soul exploration :: The movie asks the basic question if you really know the one who is close to you – it is something that is worth feeling scared about. Well, people do pretend to be someone else, and acting comes naturally to a lot of people. You see those people with profiles on the matrimonial websites with descriptions being God fearing, non-alcoholic and never smoking, but do you think that it is true? Well, even in the case of love marriages, people are blind in love and can’t see through the masks. If people missed this idea, that makes an opportunity gone for this movie. Will someone whom you love undergo so many changes that one day, that you won’t be really sure who he or she is? Well, it is a point to think about, and something that this movie could have focused further on. It is not that the same is not in the movie, but it is not that clear.

How it finishes :: The first movie that comes to my mind when thinking about this, is Under the Skin. They are surely not the same, but some moments do feel similar from a distance. Well, this one keeps the audience wondering though; couldn’t this have been a lot better with the premise? It is good with its stress and intensity, but is this all that this movie could come up with after showing a lot more promise? May be they could have stuck to the psychological side throughout, and in the end, we could have had a minimum of one psychopath or even two. It could have surely achieved better ratings with that. It already has a powerful drama side to power the same. The horror that this movie required was purely psychological, and with the same not being fully there, Honeymoon could have really been the true honeymoon.

Release date: 7th March 2014
Running time: 87 minutes
Directed by: Leigh Janiak
Starring: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway, Hanna Brown, Ben Huber

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

It Follows

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: You are talking about the Vampire Hamster. He always follows us for no reason.

Vampire Bat :: No, I am talking about a movie.

Vampire Owl :: You mean that you are not talking about those dangerous non-vampires and inexperienced vampire apprentices who stalk us for no reason.

Vampire Bat :: Absolutely not. This is a critically acclaimed horror movie.

Vampire Owl :: I hope that it is not about vampires. If they call us “it”, making a movie about vampires following humans, I am going to be really angry.

Vampire Bat :: No, it is not. I heard that it is about an unknown supernatural entity.

Vampire Owl :: Then, it is okay. I hope that the movie is not about dog spirits either. Then, the fake dog lovers will racially abuse us. The dog lovers have been doing it against their fellow Indian state of Kerala even when it was made clear that there was no mass killing of dogs in the state, and even when government is spending so much to save the dogs in the streets. I read that according to the new scheme, each dog saved will fetch a person five hundred rupees.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, even when they are using images of dogs being killed in their own states and its neighbours and are spreading it as photos from Kerala. They say that Keralites are doing it because their skin colour is black and it makes them demons or rather a lower class.

Vampire Owl :: They really judge people according to their skin colour, don’t they? It is surprising that we are allowing such racism to exist. Some people can’t stand their own fellow countrymen just because the culture and traditions are slightly different.

Vampire Bat :: Well, humans hate their own kind for many strange reasons. They murder their own people and pretend to love animals. We should make sure that we don’t meet many of them.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: The first thing that we see as the movie begins is a girl who runs away from home and gets murdered. Then we are taken to the present story, as Jaime Height (Maika Monroe) goes on a date with a man who tells her that he has infected her. He tells her that an ancient curse has passed on to her through the intercourse and now a supernatural entity will haunt her. It will try to kill her, unless she passes it to another person through an intercourse. She has to try not to die, because after her death, it will come back to him. He hopes that she will increase the number of people in the queue so that his life will be extended. With the help of her sister and friends, she hope to find a solution to this strange problem which makes no sense to her or anyone around.

The defence of It Follows :: There are not many overused horror tactics here, as It Follows takes a different path. It is a simple but effective path which is followed here, as shots are nicely presented and the background score is amazingly good. The creepiness reigns throughout the movie. It knows how to use the horror elements in an efficient manner, without the help of the extra CGI or gore which has come naturally to the horror movies in the last few years. This one proves that it is not that much of a needed thing, as a fine story with interesting moments and good performances can make it work. It might be the scariest simple movie of all-time, with its focus on the uncertainty and the loss of hope. A seemingly unstoppable force will also help to add more to the horror. It succeeds where The Babadook failed.

Positives and negatives :: It Follows is not your usual horror story. There is no big scary monster from the other world which keeps moving things around or jumping out of nowhere to get you out of the seat. There is no real form for the creature as it becomes many people, including those which we love and also ourselves as it try to make way through and get to the victims. It just comes towards you in a form, and then you die; it is as simple as that. The terror in this movie exists throughout even when not on the screen and never goes down in strength. The return of horror to glory is inevitable here. It would still depend on your taste for horror, and what kind of terror you are looking for. If you prefer to have a movie which doesn’t thrive on the jump scares, but creepiness, this will work better. You will feel the slowness too, but it is not always the negative.

Performers of the soul :: This one is Maika Monroe’s movie in many ways, and it only gets better as the film progresses. She has acted in another thriller, The Guest, and she will also be there in Independence Day: Resurgence. In the absence of those big special effects, the performances were going to be vital, and she has done this prefectly as she seems to be very much the best choice. This might be the movie for which she will be remembered for a long time. The rest of the cast just got to support her, and that is what they do. Well, not many movies can strike this well without the scary imagery and having a slow pace. The actors have played a big role in making that happen. It is slow and steady, and so it should win the race for most of the audience.

Soul exploration :: When someone says “it follows” related to a horror movie, it gives the feeling of a certain paranormal stalking. Even though the supernatural dealer of death does stalk its later victims, when we take a detailed look at the title and we see what happens, what follows here is something from which it is almost impossible to escape, and it has more than one feature. The supernatural entity here reflects factors like guilt and regret, about the things we have done and those which we haven’t done. They never leave us, and there will be a haunting experience throughout our lives. It really follows; it chases us through our daily lives. There are things that we do that makes us feel that there is a chance to escape, but we are never really out of it. Sometimes, it takes some time, and still it finds us.

How it finishes :: When I saw the critical appreciation for this movie, I first felt that this was overrated like it was the case for The Babadook. It had almost no real scary moments at all and it is rather irritating for most of its time. But thankfully, It Follows works a lot better. May be the effect of watching that strange movie with irritating characters influenced me to like this movie more. But if you want a horror movie which is completely based on entertainment and jump scares, It Follows, is surely not the movie for you. The strength of It Follows is the inability to escape from the inevitable, and this hopelessness takes the terror to another level – you keep running from it, eternally. There is no safe place as it just follows you everywhere in different human forms. But that also means that there is almost no visual horror. So you have to choose wisely.

Release date: 17th May 2014
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe, Bailey Spry, Debbie Williams, Ruby Harris, Leisa Pulido, Ele Bardha, Ingrid Mortimer, Alexyss Spradlin, Mike Lanier, Don Hails, Erin Stone

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ant-Man

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: Are you sure that there is no Vampire Ant?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, it says in all vampire books, that due to the complete absence of alienation, an ant cannot be a vampire. Neither can the bees, wasps and termites. Alienation is the first step to becoming a vampire. The idea of eusociality doesn’t work with vampires at all.

Vampire Owl :: It is good. In the presence of a Vampire Ant, we would have had to sponsor his ticket according to the new Vampire Brotherhood rules and regulations.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, a Vampire Ant seems like an impossible thing, as of now.

[Gets the tickets].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com: http://www.kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/917-ant-man-movie-review.html

When we consider the superhero movies, Marvel is a name which has proved to be the most trustworthy one in the last few years. All the movies from Marvel Studios have kept a certain standard. Even though Ant-Man is a name which is rather unheard among the common audience outside the English-speaking world, the superhero character has been there for very long. With the reception that this movie has received, we can be certain that it can have a good position among the other movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though the same can’t be said about how it has managed in this part of the world.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released from prison and is hoping to lead a life away from crime for the sake of his daughter. As he is a post-graduate in electrical engineering, he hopes that he can find a job easily, but things are not easy as his criminal record keeps him away from settling down. A police officer named Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) is engaged to his former wife, which just makes things worse. So, he decides to go on a heist with his former cellmate Luis (Michael Peña) and his friends. They choose the house of a rich old man who is known to have a vault and as Scott has done this before with perfection, they depend on him.

Meanwhile, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and had been responsible for the technology of shrinking sub-atomic particles and making Ant-Man possible. But he had quit because he understood that people were trying to copy and recreate the technology. He knew that such an invention will be incredibly dangerous if gone into the wrong hands. As his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), and his former assistant and student, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) did come so close to duplicating the same technology, he is alarmed again, and hopes to make sure that it never happens. For the same, Hope helps him, and he needs a volunteer to wear the Ant-Man suit.

At a point, the lives of these two people come together, and the story of another superhero officially begins. Actually, the movie takes too much time to get to that new tale. The real Ant-Man is not even there until the second half of the movie – there are just people and two suits. There is too much of a delay here, and it can happen with origin movies, but this one has too much of time without interesting things happening. But things get a lot better in the second half, which is full of action, and there are some very nice sequences in the smaller world involving the ants and the hero himself. Things do get to have a better direction after that.

The final action sequences are very interesting, and the ending is nice. If the theatre won’t stop with the credits, you will surely want to see the scenes which come with the final credits. Even though Marvel has indeed brought us a smaller superhero and destruction is also lesser, the scope of this one is reduced for the same reason. The superhero power itself is weird, and the action makes too much way for drama, as the dialogues are rather a lot. The movie is rather too goofy, and celebrates its inability to provide more to ponder about or even to leave a message. The seriousness never really coming to the front and the absence of a menacing villain may be some of the major reasons for the same.

You can choose to enjoy the humour though, even as it is only partially working. This movie surely needed to be more serious. The ants should not have been portrayed as random cute creatures even when made bigger. This universe of Marvel works better with its chaos and destruction, as it is where the strength should have been derived from. Yes, there are talks about the chaos happening in the world, but that goes on with the light tone of the movie, and we are not really bothered if it happens or not, as there is nothing to make us feel it the same way. Paul Rudd is perfectly suited for the role though, and Evangeline Lilly plays the second biggest character on the good side well.

Ant-Man still continues to keep the Marvel Cinematic Universe going. It just can’t go on without the regular problems of an origin story, and is not without repetitions. The basic formula remains the same, and the differences are made only according to the character of the new superhero. But still, it should interest the regular viewer of superhero movies. It does seem a little overrated right now, as it is nowhere close to being the best from Marvel. Captain America: The Winter Soldier remains the most seriously awesome movie of the universe, and Ant-Man is just some good entertainment without many thrills and no twists. I watched this movie as one of the seven people in the theatre, out of which four came only later. The multiplexes do have been attendance though – still not that much as a usual Marvel movie.

Release date: 24th July 2015 (India); 17th July 2015 (USA)
Running time: 117 minutes
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell, Abby Ryder Fortson, Gregg Turkington, Martin Donovan

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

I, Frankenstein

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: This movie was approved by Doctor Victor Frankenstein and his monster.

Vampire Bat :: It is still a risk. Just like his experiments. Last time, when he came up with such an experiment, I got teleported to different planets one hundred and twenty seven times. You know what happened with the monster.

Vampire Owl :: Still, I thought that there would be enough reasons to watch this movie. You keep coming up with something.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, the Frakenstein monster gets a special treatment, even though it is based on the graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gets a twist.

Vampire Owl :: What about the fact that the trailer had looked very good?

Vampire Bat :: I watched the trailer more than an year ago. So, can’t remember.

Vampire Owl :: It still looks good.

Vampire Bat :: Do you know that the chances of good trailers leading to good movies are rare?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but so are the chances of Uncle Dracula reclaiming his vampire throne as the ruler of all vampires.

Vampire Bat :: Okay, just don’t tell him.

[Waits at the bus station].

What is it about? :: It has been a long time after Doctor Victor Frankenstein (Aden Young) created a monster (Aaron Eckhart) from the dead. This story takes over from the finishing of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and has the monster wandering through the world of men unnoticed. During an attack by demons, he is helped by Ophir (Mahesh Jadu) and Keziah (Caitlin Stasey) of the Gargoyle Order. He is named Adam after the first man on Earth, as he is also the first and the only one of his kind, and is informed that there is a battle between good and evil going on, and it is only the Gargoyle Order created by Archangel Michael that stands between the demons and them taking over the world of men. Meanwhile, a demon Naberius (Bill Nighy) exists on Earth in the form of a billionaire and an influencial business man; he hopes to find Adam and use the secret of Frankenstein to bring back corpses to life.

The defence of I, Frankenstein :: You know what kind of a story this movie is telling. I have always loved to know what happened to the monster after the Gothic novel had ended. So, this continuation should be a welcome thing for most of the fans of the work. There is a certain amount of mysterious beauty with this movie which is carried forward regularly. The movie is full of action, and the battles are very well taken. It has quite an interesting idea and how the story develops grabs the attention of the viewers with ease. The CGI and special effects are very good, and the transformation of stone gargoyles between what is seen on the cathedrals and into various make another thing of interest. The cathedral and the mythical world detail are really nice. There is a battle that take place around the building which is nothing less than a visual action treat. If you liked Underworld, liking this should come naturally.

The claws of flaw :: They could have established the universe better, and not just telling that there has been a war going on for centuries, along with putting our protagonist right between the factions. This has almost no horror at all; the demons are there, but they are not scary enough to make that much of an impact as the creatures from the depths of hell. This could have even worked as another story without our monster in between as demons fighting angels and some human with special power being the difference maker. They should have added something special for the monster, and his emotional and spiritual conflicts could have been displayed in connection with the choices that he has to keep making. But this one manages not to take many risks and goes on to make this the action movie that it manages to be; there is very less characterization, and the attempt to establish a mythology is only partially there.

Performers of the soul :: Aaron Eckhart comes up with quite a controlled and yet powerful performance as the creature without a soul. You can feel the effort that has been put there, even though further development of the character could have made it even better. Still, this might be the best which could have been done with all are available. The monster’s situation is actually made clear with one quote from the movie: “You’re only a monster if you behave like one”, and the depiction keeps us close to the character. Yvonne Strahovski looks very good in the role, and she does her job very well, despite having much lesser to do than expected considering the significance of her character. Bill Nighy manages to bring the villainy nicely, and very much working. Miranda Otto fits her role too, even though it is a strange character at times. Jai Courtney could have been better used.

Soul exploration :: The centre of all action is a creature who has no soul, as he is an animated corpse. This itself is his absence or imperfection, similar to what people lack; in this case, it is the soul itself, as he is not a combination of body and soul like a normal human being. As a creation of the dead, he is more a zombie, but with a working brain. [***Spoilers ahead] – The interesting point that this movie manages to make is that the creature does finally manage to grow a soul. Here, a monster who was close to the dead than the living manages to develop a soul with his deeds, but as we read the newspaper every day, some humans really doesn’t have at least part of the same and don’t strive for the same. The question remains if the people of our world who lives without heart and soul can finally manage to grown something, but as we see in the movie, it is easier for a corpse to grown one rather than the humanity driver by hate.

How it finishes :: I have seen many kinds of reviews, but nothing like this 3% on Rotten Tomatoes which told me why I shouldn’t trust these critics. I have known movies which are so unbearable getting better appreciation. The difference between these and those at Metacritic is almost 30% though, which surely makes me feel where I should be checking more; it has not just been the case of this movie! Well, this movie doesn’t bring anything huge that was going to change the movie world forever, but it did exactly what it was supposed to do, and I am surprised that some people couldn’t really have the sight to see that. Well, even all movies of Underworld franchise which moves on in a similar manner got better reviews along with those terrible movies which got positive reviews – critics would prefer to see Kate Beckinsale with her vampires and werewolves rather than being caught with a monster between demons and gargoyles, it seems.

Release date: 24th January 2014
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Stuart Beattie
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, Socratis Otto, Nicholas Bell, Kevin Grevioux, Steve Mouzakis, Caitlin Stasey, Aden Young, Chris Pang, Deniz Akdeniz, Goran D. Kleut, Mahesh Jadu, Penny Higgs

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Terminator: Genisys

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I feel the nostalgia already. Do you?

Vampire Bat: Yes, I do. It has powered today’s movie journey. There is also our favourite Dragon Lady here. This a must watch!

Vampire Owl: Let’s just watch it then!

Vampire Bat: With no hesitation. He has to be back for real this time.

[Gets the tickets with extra popcorn and Mango flavoured ice cream].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com where I handle the Hollywood movie reviews division: http://kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/890-terminator-genisys-movie-review.html

There are many types of nostalgia, but there might be nothing like The Terminator for the movie fans of the 1990s. Arnold Schwarzenegger had become a lot bigger name with the movie and its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The success meant that there were five movies in the franchise which has now reached Terminator Genisys despite the lesser impact that its predecessor Terminator Salvation had created. Due to the never ceasing power of the franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger had to come back and give it another push, hoping to bring back some of the lost glory, and Terminator Genisys is the product of a need and a desire.

Years after the Judgment Day and machines taking over the planet, John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the Human Resistance against Skynet hopes to end the threat from the machines with two big assaults. The first one is to attack Skynet’s main core base, and the second to destroy a time machine located hidden and away from the main base. But despite what seemed to be a defeat for the machines at the main base, a T-800 killing machine was sent back to 1984 though the time-machine to kill John’s mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) so that he or the Resistance wouldn’t be born. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) volunteers to go after the terminator and defend the lady.

This much is more like the expected side, as most the audience is familiar with the franchise so far, or at least until the second movie. The twist happens as the terminator as well as Kyle reaches the past. Now, in this timeline, it seems that Sarah is not someone who needs to be defended. She is already skilled with the guns and is protected by another T-800 machine called Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has protected her right from her childhood and prepared her for what was to come. They easily get rid of the T-800 and finish off T-1000 with a trap much to the surprise of Kyle. But with this change to the past, what is it that the future has in store for them?

There are many twists in store in this movie along with the altered timeline. It is regarding Skynet and Genisys, John Connor, the working of the machines and our old T-800 model. It is more like a desperate effort to make the most out of all that is available, and the positive thing is that it is mostly successful in doing that. The problem is that it might seem repetitive, and this problem called Skynet and time travel has such big relationship that it can tire the viewers at times. The same also means that this is not simple action movie anymore and things are only prepared to get even more complicated. It is better for the intellect, but not that much for the regular fan.

Arnold Schwarzenegger still has a big fan-base even in this part of the world, and it was clear with those claps which were heard inside the theatre. Even after these many years, people still wish to watch him on the big screen, doing action roles – he has been a symbol of the genre for the common man, a lot more than Sylvester Stallone could ever be. Time has passed, and new action heroes have emerged, but as far as Hollywood is concerned, people like to stick to this man. It is the same which the movie has utilized, for Arnold and Terminator is a combination that works better than anything else, and as he does what he has always done the best, this sequel stays powered.

Game of Thrones’ own Khaleesi, the Mother of Dragons, Emilia Clarke joins him on this battle against the machines, calling him Pops and making him her own personal Guardian Angel. You have to love her in this role too; the fans certainly will. With the rest of them also contributing very well, the cast is a fine reason why you can watch this one. The movie’s biggest strength is still nostalgia, and the action sequences are nice; the plot related to the timelines also leaves us something to ponder about. There are some moments of laughter too, most of them related to Arnold himself. Yes, it is visually very good too.

The alternate timeline meant that there was more freedom here, and the advantage of having things reset is that you don’t need a real reboot or remake to continue a franchise, and a sequel will always attract more people because it is supposed to recreate a lot more rather than remake or somewhat recreate the content. Still, just like Jurassic World, this one also doesn’t manage to become the grand remake which could use all the resources to make things better than how it was with the original. It is not that we were expecting such a thing to happen, but there are people who have waited so eagerly for this movie. This is still the best you have had since Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Release date: 3rd July 2015 (India); 1st July 2015 (USA)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Lee Byung-hun, Wayne Bastrup, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Dayo Okeniyi, Gregory Alan Williams, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gladis, Griff Furst, Teri Wyble, Nolan Gross

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Insidious III

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula was asking about this movie. The Vampire Oracle had told him that Count Dracula III will be only as good as Insidious III.

Vampire Bat: You can’t really expect anything to be as good as the original. There can be only be one original Dracula. It has been proven by characters in the works like Twilight.

Vampire Owl: Lets test the movie then and let him know.

[Gets the tickets].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com where I handle the Hollywood movie reviews division: http://kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/885-insidious-chapter-3-movie-review.html

Even though The Conjuring has been considered as the most exciting horror movie of the recent times by the common audience, there has always been something about Insidious. The journey through the astral dimension and the demons of that world which they called The Further, has worked very well with the viewers. Insidious: Chapter 3 is actually not a sequel to the incidents of the previous chapter, as it does the job of being a prequel to the first movie. It goes a few years behind the Lambert haunting which was shown in the first movie. It is clear that it never intends to go that far back to become an origin story, but Insidious: Chapter 3 does come close to being one.

Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott), a teenage girl finds it difficult to cope with the loss of her mother. She has been trying to contact her dead mother Lillith (Ele Keats) and believes that her mother wants to communicate with her from the other world. When she contacts Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) with the same desire, the lady tries, but stops the procedure telling the girl that it is dangerous and she shouldn’t call out to any of the dead, as the other spirits will also be able to hear her. As days pass, Quinn sees a dark figure waving at her multiple times, and when she tries to check it when on road, she is hit by a car which leaves her on a wheel chair with fracture on both her legs.

The paranormal activities only increase as she sees visions, and a demon continues to cross over from the other world and torment her, most of the incidents leaving her on the floor with further injuries. A collar on the neck is just one of those extra additions that the demons give her as things continue to get worse. Despite her father keeping a close look at things, nothing positive comes out of it, and he is forced to seek help from those who deal with the supernatural. Elise is not confident enough to go back to the other dimension as she is afraid of being murdered by a demon who threatens her. Will she be able to face her fears and save the girl before the youngster’s soul is gone forever?

The scares in the movie are very much working through these incidents. The new demon is a very good addition to the creatures of the other world. It scares whenever there is an opportunity, and the creepiness of the movie continues to impress. The setting only helps with the same, as there is this nice little apartment which has an abandoned room above it. The world of spirits also continues to make the desired horror impact. Some of them include the demon’s first close appearance, the girl’s possession and the scene at the abandoned room – actually, there are many scenes which make the horror work, and it succeeds where Annabelle was confused.

The ending also leaves something more to desire for the fans, as a movie between this one and the first flick can be expected. People can still feel that this doesn’t bring enough innovation, but by staying close to the material, Insidious: Chapter 3 has managed fine. There is not much of blood and gore, but just the scares in the old style. Darkness has been nicely used as the movie’s best friend, and so are the doors, windows and walls. If you are not happy enough after watching it, you might have been expecting much more. There is no touching the level of The Conjuring, but this is surely the best horror movie which has had a wide release after that one.

Lin Shaye is once again plays the expert in all these spirit-related things, and she is the soul of this movie as she handles things with ease. Along with the three movies of the franchise, she was also there for Ouija, and this is a familiar territory for her. Stefanie Scott gives a high quality performance too, as she plays the teenager troubled by her mother’s death, the one with hope to provide wings for her ambitions and also the person tormented and possessed by the demon. She is impressive throughout the movie. Dermot Mulroney just got a simpler thing to do as the father. Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell brings the humour as Tucker and Specs.

As you have reached the third movie of the franchise, you can notice that the director has changed, and there is no more James Wan at the helm and the writer for the franchise, Leigh Whannell has taken over. But the movie hasn’t lost its best qualities, unlike X-Men, Species and Alien franchises which had their least interesting movies as the third entries. Instead, this movie improves from the second entry and becomes almost as good as the first film, and in a world of mostly lesser quality sequels, it is an achievement. There might be no huge innovation here, but if you want to be scared this weekend, Insidious: Chapter 3 is the right movie for you.

Release date: 26th June 2015 (India); 5th June 2015 (USA)
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Lin Shaye, Hayley Kiyoko, Michael Reid MacKay, Tate Berney, Tom Gallop, Phyllis Applegate, Ashton Moio, Ele Keats, Adrian, Tom Fitzpatrick, Phil Abrams, Ruben Garfias, Samantha Ramraj, James Wan, Amaris Davidson, Anna Ross, Joseph Bishara

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

See No Evil 2

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl :: I feel that we shouldn’t watch this movie.

Vampire Bat :: Why? You didn’t like the first movie?

Vampire Owl :: No, not that; even if we tell others that we see See No Evil, we actually see the evil which is committed on the screen, but it should be about seeing no evil. So, it implies that we are lying. You will be writing about this movie. So, if you write that you saw See No Evil, that means that you saw all the evil deeds on the screen and in the end, it means that you saw evil instead of not seeing the evil. That is a lie. Vampires don’t lie.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t get this see-saw evil. What are you talking about?

Vampire Owl :: I am saying that this movie asks us not to watch it, and it is a fact.

Vampire Bat :: I don’t really think that you should create a complicated issue out of a horror slasher movie and its title.

Vampire Owl :: How can you say that? I demand the right to use my owlish brain.

Vampire Bat :: Why does it never work when needed?

Vampire Owl :: I can’t help it. I am an evil genius and my needs are different.

Vampire Bat :: So, it is true that the branch of a tree fell on your head?

[A few minutes of silence].

What is it about? :: Amy (Danielle Harris), Seth (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) and Holden (Michael Eklund) are working at a morgue late night. As it is Amy’s birthday and with her getting ready to leave, they get to know that the bodies of nine victims of a murderer are being brought, along with that of the killer, Jacob Goodnight (Kane); and she decides to stay and help them instead of going for a party. Due to her absence, her friends Tamara (Katharine Isabelle), Kayla (Chelan Simmons) and Carter (Lee Majdoub) sneak in to celebrate her birthday along with her brother Will (Greyston Holt) as they begin a party in the morgue. But what will they do when they find out that the killer is alive and is killing one after the other?

The defence of See No Evil 2 :: Coming from the Soska sisters Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska who came up with the movie American Mary in 2012, this is a sure improvement from there – that movie itself had some nice elements, but none that effective. They have also starred in the nice beginning credit scenes as corpses. There is nice treatment of this regular slasher movie which makes it rise above the ordinary. See No Evil 2 is surely going to be something of interest for the WWE fans. There is Kane doing what he has done in WWE for a long time; there is total devastation as he used to do with his opponenets. Jacob Goodnight is sure to become a character to be remembered for a long time, and the setting and the style only adds to the overall terror quality of the movie. The elements of fear nicely focuses on the killer and the environment. It is good fun with thrills.

The claws of flaw :: There are things that go on without reaching anywhere, with the attraction between the co-workers and the brother-sister relationship being just two of them. The return of the villain doesn’t have any explanations, as we can’t stop feeling that it is just an attempt to make things work once again with the same character and the actor. There is a certain supernatural feeling about the character with surely damages things. The flashbacks which go back to the first movie only makes things too strange and less interesting to follow as they break the continuity of the story. The horror elements never really go above a certain limit which has been set by the inability to do anything special. The killings are nothing beyond the ordinary, and the ending is just something which could have been better planned.

Performers of the soul :: Glenn Thomas Jacobs whom we know as the WWE wrestler Kane remains the biggest asset of this movie, and it surely was a good idea to bring the character back for him, as he seems to do this role with certain ease. Working as the brother of The Undertaker and being part of The Brothers of Destruction was a job too good with the mask, and this one has him returning with another mask. Danielle Harris is one of those scream queens who has been there in horror movies doing similar roles for a very long time, mostly related to two movies of Hatchet series and four belonging to the Halloween franchise, and the list doesn’t end there. She is right there with the role, but it is Katharine Isabelle, the other queen of horror who steals the show – the one from Ginger Snaps franchise and American Mary, not easily recognizable in this new style, but this is a different character for her as she adds humour and fun to this movie.

How it finishes :: With some fun and scares here and there, this one is a sure improvement from the first movie. The environment, the leading character and the two leading ladies are those factors which make sure that this works better than the previous movie. We have had some interesing killers including Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Victor Crowley; so Jacob Goodnight will only add nicely to that list which has the stranger names like Rusty Nail and Chrome Skull. There is one certain thing about this franchise, and it is that the whole thing has managed to move away from the weaknesses of the first movie. See No Evil 2 works, and how much it works is dependent on the taste.

[After watching the movie].

Vampire Owl :: I think that we should follow the pattern.

Vampire Bat :: What pattern?

Vampire Owl :: This one tells us how to establish a base at the morgue. Why didn’t we ever thing about it?

Vampire Bat :: I am currently thinking that this is better than the predecessor.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, that is established already. What about the pattern?

Vampire Bat :: I don’t think that we should establish new vampire bases without permission from Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, the permission has to be taken, but this is one place where we can establish the base without further trouble.

Vampire Bat :: You don’t think that the current cemetery bases will be enough?

Vampire Owl :: No, there is something big coming. I can feel it. We need the morgue.

Vampire Bat :: It is Insidious: Chapter 3. Just make sure that you watch it.

Release date: 21st October 2014
Running time: 90 minutes
Directed by: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Starring: Kane, Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle, Chelan Simmons, Michael Eklund, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Greyston Holt, Lee Majdoub, Sylvia Soska, Jen Soska

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Purge: Anarchy

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Tennyson

Background to the franchise :: Most of you might have watched the first movie of this franchise, and other might have surely heard about it here or there. It is basically about the United States of America of another reality. Unemployment has been successfully brought to a new low. As the number of people below poverty line decreases every year, crime becomes something which is rather not known. All thanks to the Purge, which has made all crime legal with all police, fire and rescue, and hospital emergency services closed down for one night a year, for twelve hours, from seven pm to seven am – anything goes at that time period. This idea by a totalitarian party called The New Founding Fathers of America makes sure that there is catharsis, and also that there is a certain amount of population control of the poor, as the wealthy rarely become victims of the twelve hours of crime.

What is it about? :: We know from the last movie of the franchise that the most successful Purge happened in the year 2022. Here, we are in the very next year, as 2023 gets ready for the year’s big festival of brutality and chaos. It is March 21, 2023, and as the time comes closer, everyone wishes the other “Stay safe”. There are only two things to do for people, to go on a murder spree or hide themselves somewhere indoors with enough security added. At the same time, there is the anti-Purge revolutionaries hoping to strike back in defence of the poor. There is one armed police officer looking for revenge on the streets as he was denied justice by the law that he trusted, a husband and wife are left on the road with car trouble and a mother and a daughter are trying to escape from a group that captures them. The rest of the movie is what follows on the day of the Purge.

The defence of The Purge: Anarchy :: There is a lot more to this sequel than the predecessor. There is a certain expansion on what was there in the first movie, especially with the idea. The bloody images that the movie shows are extremely powerful, and this is also the first time that we get the clear view of what happens outside in the streets during the Purge instead of how it turns out to be inside one house and maximum, a neighbourhood. There is an even clearer picture what happens outside the rich neighbourhood and how the poor or even the middle class are treated during the Purge. and it moves out of the possibility of being caught in the stereotype. You can say that it better expresses what the first movie had in mind. The ending is really good too, and it is a real positive whichever way you look at it.

Positives and Negatives :: The true nature of people that The Purge: Anarchy brings is not going to be nice for all kinds of viewers. There is the loss of humanity, and the cruelty that is sponsored by the government as well as the corporates, as the wealthy also hopes to have their right to purge without risking that much. The right to life has been replaced by the right to kill – new fundamental right. So, one needs to prepare to be shocked. As things get further revealed, it is not just what is on the screen that brings the shock, but also what hides behind which is even more. It is how the whole thing is designed that has more power than what stays on the screen for the viewers to watch. It is about what might happen in many forms, and its brings that realization that all violence has a few bigger master plan that hides behind a mask. But the premise could have had even further development!

Performers of the soul :: The second part has more characterization involved, and the limitations of the first one are overcome as the Purge goes wider and with more opportunities for terror. Frank Grillo is the one who leads the way with the performance just like he did with the Purge in the movie. He played Brock Rumlow (comic book character Crossbones) in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and will make the grand return in Captain America: Civil War. He reminds one of Eric Bana. Zoë Soul and Carmen Ejogo nicely plays the next significant characters in the movie. The rest of the cast including Kiele Sanchez and Zach Gilford also does fine in their respective roles, but the hero still remains the theme – with the support there in the performances.

Soul exploration :: The Purge: Anarchy has a dark soul. Even without the blood and gore as some other movies, it isjust brutality in store. It has a government which allows the same, and a media which celebrates it. The wishes are for the success of the Purge as if it is a need. There are also government officials granted immunity from the horror of the pledge. It doesn’t give humanity a place. There is class divide, and it is on the blood of the lesser privileged human that the Purge thrives. It is also a reflection of the truth that basically nobody likes the other. So the basic idea is to save oneself from the other or kill the other. In case of a communal riot, it is not so different in the present world too, isn’t it? There are occasions when people descend into so much of chaos, and Purge is just an example of the same. Things only get worse when people in power need this to happen.

How it finishes :: The Purge: Anarchy is more thriller with a message rather than the horror-slasher. It nicely explores the human nature and its tendency for violence even against their own people. It shows how government joins in to take advantage of the same, and use it to their political advantage and the ease of administration. Then there are the corporate rich who hopes to take advantage of the poor, making sure that their deaths happen to the rich Purge satisfaction, as it is also an opportunity for them to become richer through selling arms and ammunitions as well as the security systems to those who can afford them. When seeing wars, terrorists attacks and communal riots, there is question of who is to blame, and there are many answers in this movie, and no, you can’t blame religion, things are much bigger than that.

Release date: 18th July 2014
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Starring: Frank Grillo, Zoë Soul, Carmen Ejogo, Kiele Sanchez, Zach Gilford, Michael K. Williams, Justina Machado, John Beasley, Jack Conley, Noel Gugliemi, Castulo Guerra, Edwin Hodge, Keith Stanfield, Roberta Valderrama, Brandon Keener

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Jurassic World

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Are you sure that the dinosaurs haven’t ever allied with werewolves and were not the enemies of the Old Vampire World?

Vampire Bat: Yes. It says right here in the Grand Vampire History and Encyclopedia. Dinosaurs were a neutral group of creatures who preceded the Draconian Reptile Order, but has no direct relation with any of the magical species of the present world.

Vampire Owl: Lets watch the movie then.

[Gets the tickets].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com where I handle the Hollywood movie reviews division: http://www.kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/867-jurassic-world-movie-review.html

A long time has passed since our last adventures in a park of dinosaurs. It took the makers quite a long time after that 1993 movie which had a big place in our childhood and also spawned two sequels which made a much lesser impact even when taken together. The aim for this third sequel seems to be simple – as they understand that sequels and remakes are doing wonderful work these days at the box-office. It is not easy to match up to a movie which had become the highest grossing movie, breaking all records, until Titanic came up to claim the status of the highest grosser of all time – but Jurassic World was going to give it a try.

A new dinosaur theme park is open with live dinosaurs, twenty two years after the incidents which were featured in the first Jurassic Park. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the park operations manager, and her nephews, Zach Mitchell (Nick Robinson) and Gray Mitchell (Ty Simpkins) arrives at the park for having some family time together along with enjoying the special features of the place. The park had become a favourite destination for the tourists and had grown a lot with its environment and the new varieties of dinosaurs. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) is a trainer of Velociraptors, who is asked by Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), the owner of the Jurassic World to check for safety at the enclosure set for a new genetically modified dinosaur which they call the Indominus Rex.

The dinosaur turns out to be smarter than they thought, as the creature manages to get out of the enclosure while pretending to have already escaped, and Owen just manages to get away at the last minute. The rest of the movie is about the destruction that the creature causes and how the team at the Jurassic World led by Owen and Claire manages to finish it off, as the hybrid dinosaur unleashes chaos, taking out the tracking implant from its own body and asserting its supremacy over all other creatures. At the same time, they also have to find the missing brothers who were on a ride which was cancelled with the declaration of emergency throughout the park.

As most of the fans might have expected, Jurassic World is nowhere near the original Jurassic Park. But among the sequels of the original movie, this one manages to be the best so far. The movie is full of entertainment even with those occasional moments of slight drag. There are some nice attractions and good design of dinosaurs with fine use of the CGI and the special effects. The new park which has its last name replaced is a joy to watch with its design and visuals. The creatures look better as you would expect, and the battles have also gone bigger with those better dinosaurs and people armed with better weapons. But there was the need to show and explain more of the new park, establishing it as a genuine wonder for the tourists.

Chris Pratt doesn’t go on like in Guardians of the Galaxy – he is not even the central character here despite the fact that he might be the one who goes through the maximum action sequences. It is a different kind of character from that space action movie, and he manages it very well. The scene with him riding on a bike surrounded by the raptors is a very nice one, and he is the one real action hero of this movie. The main character is played by Bryce Dallas Howard, and she is like the least interested character who manages to get forced into the action and she works that out very well. There is also more humour when she is around, and she contributes to saving the day as much as Chris Pratt and sometimes even more.

Irrfan Khan is a fine reason for the Indian audience to watch the movie. If you remember seeing him in The Amazing Spider-Man, this is a similar role, but lasts longer and actually he does more in this movie – another millionaire, ambitious, but not really villainous this time. But there is surely limited scope for performances in a movie ruled by dinosaurs who remain the true performers just like they have been throughout the franchise. This is the same reason why the smartness of the dinosaur should have been better used instead of its size and strength – may be it could have been shown to hunt more by using its intelligence causing the humans to come up with stranger ideas to bring it down. That would have meant scope for more stylish, and yet intelligent action.

Jurassic World is a movie that brings you some dinosaur nostalgia as the memories of your childhood’s most awesome movies come back to life. There are moments which remind us of the first movie of the franchise. There is no other creature which sells like the dinosaur in a movie, and it was evident with the rush at the theatre. The specialty of this one is that the whole thing connects better even to people with a wide variety of preferences. This could have used more wonder and tension, but this still manages to be your fine entertainer with scope of becoming a nice blockbuster, and may be even go on to become the third highest grossing movie of the year with half of 2015 gone, after Fast and Furious 7 and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Release date: 11th June 2015 (India); 12th June 2015 (USA)
Running time: 130 minutes
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, B. D. Wong, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Brian Tee, Lauren Lapkus, Katie McGrath, Judy Greer, Andy Buckley, James DuMont, Jimmy Fallon