Tag Archives: time travel

Murphy

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: And after a long time, we get to watch another Kannada movie.

Vampire Bat: Well, this is not the usual kind of mass masala movies that comes here from that particular industry.

Vampire Owl: There are so many movies which we have missed, right?

Vampire Bat: Yes, just because some movies were too mass masala, we ignored the rest. And Mythri was bilingual. The other movie which we mistakenly added to the list was actually Telugu – Konda Polam.

Vampire Owl: Some industries just have too much nonsense in the form of mass masala.

Vampire Bat: But such a world feels too relevant for the audience who do not think.

Vampire Owl: In most industries, the best-grossing movies are not the best.

Vampire Bat: I would also add that the best movies are never sent for the Oscars from India.

Vampire Owl: You are surely talking about Kumbalangi Nights now.

Vampire Bat: And many others, which are more relevant to a classic status than most of the others. The movies which have mass masala content should never qualify for any awards, whether of national or state level.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: David Murphy (Prabhu Mundkur) is a young man who lives a simple life under the care of his grandfather Richard (HG Dattatreya) after his mother left him just years after he was born, post which his father also met with an accident and died. He is in love with Jessie (Ila Veermalla), his best friend for years, now studying in the same college and also hailing from the same small neighbourhood. David only has a few memories of his past, and he wishes that he could repair that one radio which remains a souvenir of the time he had spent with his father, but Richard always keep it locked and do not wish to have anyone touch the same. One day, David manages to sneak through to the room where the radio is kept and using a radio manual makes it work, only to hear voices from the device and also find replies coming from the other side to his own talk. To his surprise, the voice on the other side is that of a girl who tells him that she studies in the same college as he and Jessie do.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: A storm which seems to have caused some electrical event feels like the reason for this as David communicates with Janani Chandrasekhar (Roshni Prakash), who promises to meet him at a specified time and date at the college, but both at baffled by the fact that the other was not found at the same place. While they both accuse each other of not coming to the location in time and of not studying in the same college, Janani’s talk about an ongoing World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka where Sachin Tendulkar was opening the innings makes him feel that she is not from the year where he exists. He understands that she is talking about the Cricket World Cup semi-final match between India and Sri Lanka which was abandoned due to crowd misbehaviour, following which Sri Lanka was declared the winner and advanced to the finals. As he predicts the outcome of the match in clarity, she understands that they are from two timelines, and the story begins to unfold and connect both of them through common thread.

The defence of Murphy :: The movie which seems to bring magical realism in the form of science fiction, is indeed a world of magic that comes to the usual scheme of things uninvited. Into this world, we have those characters whose journey are so beautifully portrayed, and we see them as people who carry the emotional weights, never having a stereotype in store here. The stunning visuals and the soothing music keep us interested at all times, and we see that even in loss and regret, there is that goodness which is never lost. Any other movie with a radio connection between two youngsters from the past and present would have the tendency to make a romantic world with some ridiculous dance scenes and that mass silliness which creeps in out of nowhere, but not in this one. The ability to not think not for a group of movie-watching zombies, but to go for the heart of the true cinelover, makes this one a spectacle of the soul. It also comes up with a satisfying ending which also stays, and so we know this world lives on with joy.

Positives and negatives :: The movie is known to be based on an older Korean movie, but it never provides the feeling that it is not blending into this part of the world. If it is original, this is the kind of movies that should be sent for the Oscars from India. As it released in 2024, the concept also does feel a little bit old as so much of time traveling science fiction with romantic or dramatic additions have been done, and a few things might feel predictable, but the fine visage does hide the same up to an extent. The characters seem to be taken right out a real world with magic realism on one side, something which we have appreciated in movies like Amen and Philips and the Monkeypen in a corner, but here, the science fiction element adds the magical thing directly around here. There is a certain amount of beauty about that, as radio remains the most beautiful and magnificent thing here, as something so powerful to determine fate and destiny, during an age when television and then computer and internet replaced it – that nostalgia of a powerful antiquity will remain with us through this movie, especially for those who were born till the beginning of this century.

The performers of the soul :: Prabhu Mundkur is amazingly good as a man of two ages, going from one to the other as two characters, not the same in any way, but bound together with similar elements of human mind. Both characters differ in priorities, but love unites them both, as we will realize, not just the romantic love, but also that of a father and son. His characters are living feel-good factors in a world which is confused about where the true joy lies. It is his display of vulnerability of a kid who did not have the best of childhoods that brings this movie to a peak with regret and the need to change the past creeping into more than one character through his actions. Roshni Prakash who plays Janani plays an emotional role in such a believable way, and her chemistry on the radio is remarkable, and the abiding sadness is so well portrayed as her love and sacrifice which serves as a guiding light. H G Dattatreya remains a veteran pillar who seems like he is guiding everyone. Ila Veermalla as Jessie should also be appreciated, and her character is one reflection of selfless love, that is not given the deserved importance in comparison.

How it finishes :: I have not watched many Kannada movies, and it can be understood from the list of movies which are provided in the menus and drop-down lists of this website, and it might also be the least watched language of movies among the South Indian movies. This one though, is a movie that would change them all, and that too without any unnecessary appendage meant to make things appeal to the common audience. The beauty of this movie is not just one screen, but also underneath, as we watch this one with our soul rather than anything else. This is the kind of movie that keeps us so much invested in the characters even when this is not at all a new tale by any means. The life in this movie which takes on science fiction is more than any flick that takes the so-called realistic tales. Well, not all realities are for everyone, right? Some of those romantic and drama movies have been too unrealistic, even less close to life than the horror and apocalyptic movies that we watch. But this one is beautifully close to life, and leaves us feeling better than most feel-good movies, with a tear happily in our eyes. Well, anyone with a lot of money can make a spectacle on screen, but only a few can make something like this for the soul.

Release date: 18th October 2024
Running time: 136 minutes
Directed by: BSP Varma
Starring: Prabhu Mundkur, Roshni Prakash, Ila Veermalla, HG Dattatreya, Ashwin Rao Pallakki, Mahantesh Hiremath, Rramprasadd Banavara, BSP Varma, Master Dhawan

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Flash

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: I have once proven that I could be faster than The Flash.

Vampire Bat: Vampires have speed as one of their special skills.

Vampire Owl: Yet, it is certainly not fast enough.

Vampire Bat: You cannot ask for so much of speed when you have other skills.

Vampire Owl: Drinking blood do not count as a skill.

Vampire Bat: I understand that it is a quality.

Vampire Owl: I was going to call it a necessity.

Vampire Bat: Vampires can live without any necessities.

Vampire Owl: Humans call necessity to be the mother of invention.

Vampire Bat: We do not need to invent anything, as we have everything here already.

[Gets a mango cake and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash (Ezra Miller) is living his life as the superhero who is meant to save the world regularly along with Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). After stopping a robbery and after saving children from a hospital, Barry gets back to his normal life which includes the trial of his father Henry Allen (Ron Livingston) who is supposed to have killed his mother Nora Allen (Maribel Verdu) a long time ago when he was a child. It was the one incident which changed his world permanently, and it is still has the chance to get him further down in depression. Understanding that his father would remain in prison for the murder which he never committed, he is overcome by emotions and ends up traveling back in time. Despite the advice of Bruce not to do it, he ends up changing his past, making sure that his mother never forgot to buy a can of tomatoes, and was not left alone in the kitchen while his father had left for the supermarket. This seems to have left his mother alive and his father out of prison.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Barry feels that he has solved everything by just changing a little bit of the past, but he is thrown out of the world of speed by another quickly moving person. As he falls out of there, he finds himself in 2013, and finds his parents at home, with another version of him arriving there at the same time. This version does not have the powers as he does not go to the same places, and in an attempt to make sure that the superpowers are achieved, they reach the location to get hit by lightning, but Barry ends up losing his powers while the younger version in this timeline becomes the metahuman. The other version of him do not know how to use the powers, and without them, he cannot get back to his timeline, and that creates a clear problem out there. He has to go back in time before there is any more problem being created, but this is the same moment when an alien from outer space sends a threatening message to humans to provide them with someone belonging to their species or meet instant doom. Now, with no metahumans to be found in this world and with no Justice League, Barry wonders what can be done.

The defence of The Flash :: It can be seen that The Flash begins really well, with some slow motion moments that steal the show – even before that, we know that the film will be more light-hearted than anything else. The actions sequences are nicely done, especially the final ones. The journey through the timeline and within the Speedforce remain interesting. Some of the references to what lies beneath work with effectiveness. The idea of not trying to alter the past for personal gains maintains the upper hand, and a certain amount of stoicism can also be seen. At the same time, the movie serves its fan with determination, and we are impressed with multiple worlds reminding us of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness just because that film came earlier. Sometimes we feel that we just need that particular version of Supergirl to appreciate the work done here – not all worlds need Superman-power, and some are not ready for the same. Well, not all worlds need to have everything, and it could be more divergent than having some versions of all heroes everywhere.

Positives and negatives :: When the speedster metahuman is involved, there is always scope for more, not just with the story, but with the visuals which would have no real limits – we know that the tale can always be expanded from that series from some time ago. It is to be noted that the Flash is not really a much remembered superhero in this part of the world, and often makes us feel that Quicksilver always had the advantage in the slow-motion sequences – Marvel’s early introduction of its metahumans could be blamed for the same, but even after the speedster returned, the ball never really arrived at his court to provide him the advantage. The negativity in relation to the movie is not justified though, as the movie works so well, and it maintains quality in the proceedings. If Spider-Man with its multiverse can work nicely, this does the same with the use of speed even better. The movie struggles a bit during the first return to 2013 timeline and the a few minutes there do not go off – things only get better with the discovery of Batman in this particular world.

The performers of the soul :: Ezra Miller handles the character of Flash with ease. The elements of humour have been maintained well by him here. The comic side remains strong, thanks to him, and in their very small presences, Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck also supports the humorous side really well. The one who steals show as the surprise package is Sasha Calle who becomes the first Latina actress to portray the role of Supergirl. The extra-terrestrial species of the planet of Krypton seems to be scoring really well with their characters beyond Superman too. Sasha is remarkable as the Supergirl who rises to fight for the new species that she does not know, and excels in those shots of classic superhero action that elevates the movie. We would love to see her in more action movies, maybe with a science fiction or horror touch. Michael Shannon’s return as General Zod makes the same impact as the last time. Antje Traue has the supporting role with the antagonist, and remains somewhat notable. Michael Keaton comes in the role of Batman of the new timeline, and it is not something new for those who have seen him playing the role before in the 1990s.

How it finishes :: The Flash can be considered as a misunderstood movie which could have done a lot better business and surely deserved a better reception from the audience. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is surely a better flick which also only did better, but not as much as it should have done. Well, these days, we do see that most of these DC movies are actually better than the Marvel flicks after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game. The overpowered Captain Marvel never really needed to make a comeback either and The Marvels never required to even exist as it never seemed to have shows there. We would have required more of movies from Doctor Strange and maybe a film with Hawkeye at the centre from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For DC, there could have been more of Batman and Wonder Woman too. For now, it is good to have The Flash around with a Supergirl whom we are going to remember for a very long time. You have to make the movies interesting, rather than trying to create characters and situations for the sake of pleasing people, and this movie deserves the applause for keeping it entertaining at all times.

Release date: 16th June 2023 (Theatre); 15th November 2023 (Jio Cinema)
Running time: 144 minutes
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Michael Keaton

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pendulum

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: I have heard a lot about this movie being different.

Vampire Bat: One of the most divergent movies in Malayalam indeed.

Vampire Owl: I earlier had the feeling that this would be horror.

Vampire Bat: A mystery thriller need not be horror in any way.

Vampire Owl: Nothing would be better than a combination of all of these.

Vampire Bat: When it comes in Malayalam, there is a special feeling.

Vampire Owl: We need all the variety that we can have.

Vampire Bat: Let us thrive on such variety like never before.

Vampire Owl: The acceptance of audience would remain a question though.

Vampire Bat: The best movies would not be accepted well by our audience.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: A truck driver named Antony (Shobi Thilakan) finds a strange man named Amir (Binoj Villya) on his vehicle, and despite his best attempts, the man does not get down, and seems to be mentally challenged and without most of his memories. Alex (Sunil Sukhada), the owner of the warehouse to which the truck supplied the goods tells them to keep him with them, and let him get down where he wanted to. Antony is surprised to find a number of snails around when Amir is there. Amir also predicts a number of things which would happen including heavy rains and hitting a dog on the way. Antony becomes more careful as Amir continues to reveal more. At the same time, Dr. Mahesh Narayan (Vijay Babu), a reputed surgeon returning from Australia after many years of service, joins a famous hospital in Kerala. He is accompanied by his wife Shwetha (Devaki Rajendran) and daughter Thanmayi (Aavani) who are happy to be back home from the concrete jungles of Australia’s cities. One day, he meets an old man in the hospital who tells him to find out where his son is, a case which he refers to the psychiatrist, feeling that the man is crazy.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Mahesh and his family goes on a short trip to Marayur, he gets a feeling of déjà vu for no reason, and Thanmayi locks the key of the car inside the trunk while they were having tea on a roadside shop. They decide to stay there, and while he was trying to get signal for his mobile phone, gets hit by a truck, and this is proven to be the one driven by Antony with Amir in it. Shweta finds him unconscious on the side of the road, and only he remembers that he was hit by a truck. Just before he was hit, he had found him in a dream of Amir and his friend Angel without invitation, and the old man had also asked him to find his son again. There seems to be something strange about all of these, but only he feels that all these have actually happened. His friend Dr. Jain Joseph (Ramesh Pisharody) seems to have some belief in what he has been saying. He asks Mahesh to talk to a man named John Master (Prakash Bare) who has had some interesting explanations for strange events which have happened all around the world. But as the incidents of the dreams have happened with a huge time gap in between, can there be an actual solution and a chance to extract what is required from the dreams?

The defence of Pendulum :: The ideas of time travelling and lucid dreaming come as new concepts to Malayalam cinema, and they have been used with effectively to create an impact like never before. This entry of the elements of science fiction into our movies with quality is to be remembered for long, as we hope for more of similar movies after watching this one. We should always be looking for experimentation here, and hope that this is only the beginning of some fine variety which is to follow soon enough. Maybe such movies will be made in big budget instead. The quality of making is also to be noted here as we move forward. The dreams are presented very well, and nice visuals support them. The mystery that prevails in this movie keeps us going, like no other similar film. After all, we are all set in a series of time loops in our own lives, and there seems to be no end or chance to escape – the realities that we create do not come to our help. The film often feels like a reflection of our meaningless lives which seem like busy realities. The music serves the purpose well enough as the mystery only gets sharper and thicker as we move forward.

Positives and negatives :: There is no doubt about the fact that the movie could have used more refining as some more of attention to details would have helped this one to connect to its audience better. There are times when the film seems to be confused about where it is heading. After all, there was the need for more explanation as the concept is new for the audience – we do have a lot of explanation here for sure, but not in the way that there is a perfectly defined conclusion to things. As time is not linear in this movie, such an explanation could have done a lot of good to the non-complicated, unsuspecting viewers. There is still the need to understand how the main character is involved in all of these, and how things have actually turned out in the end. It leaves us with the feeling that we have watched something special, but the chance to become a classic movie is not there because of the absence of some focused writing in relation to the complication between time and dreams in a world that walks on a bridge between real and unreal.

The performers of the soul :: Vijay Babu nicely leads a complicated movie with twisted characters all around. The sinister and seemingly unsolvable problems faced by the character is nicely shown by Vijay Babu who seems to blend in to the doctor facing unexpected terror. He has to go through an Inception-like world living through magically created world, and at the same time, relive his life multiple times like in Edge of Tomorrow. The helplessness is displayed really well by the actor. Ramesh Pisharody comes up with an interesting role here, as a doctor and support. Devaki Rajendran plays the main lady character here, and keeps us hoping to see her more around. Anumol is playing the other lady character of relevance, and handles her moments really well with a touch of mystery following her. Prakash Bare has another strong role well played here as we go deep into a world of mystery. Indrans plays a strange character without enough attention provided to characterization, but it is nice to see him in another classic role. Shobi Thilakan also has a strong presence here. Sunil Sukhada and Neena Kurup also have some small, but notable roles.

How it finishes :: With lucid dreaming and time travelling making its way nicely in here, this becomes a landmark movie in Malayalam movie industry. It is just strange that it had gone unnoticed among the common audience – one can blame the absence of the required kind of advertisement and also the missing superstar at least in the form of a leading lady for the same. The cast that we see here is surely able to hold the movie universe together, but we needed that special ingredient which could have appealed better to our audience, and in its absence in advertising has left this film mostly unwatched, which is rather disappointing. Maybe some people still fail to understand the basic idea behind this movie. Yet, it is brilliant as the attempt, and I would say that this is a fine New Year movie which one could watch with the presence of what seems to be a blend of science fiction and magic. So, we go on and watch this one and wish each other a Very Happy New Year. May this new year bring the best moments in your life, as world never ceases to have enough to offer.

Release date: 8th December 2023 (Saina Play); 16th June 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Rejin S Babu
Starring: Vijay Babu, Ramesh Pisharody, Devaki Rajendran, Anumol, Prakash Bare, Indrans, Shobi Thilakan, Deepu Navaikulam, Sunil Sukhada, Neena Kurup, Jolly Chirayath, Aseem Ibrahim, Biju Sopanam

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous full sci-fi review.

<<< Click here to go the review of latest thriller.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Tomorrow War

Posted on by

What is the movie about? :: From a distant future of war and destruction, we come back to December 2022, as a biology teacher and Iraq War veteran, Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), is highly disappointed during the Christmas season, as he fails in his dream, which was to get a job at a research center. As he watched the FIFA World Cup with his family at a Christmas party, he was shocked to see a few soldiers from thirty years into future arrive in the middle of the ground. They warn everyone that humanity is facing extinction while facing a group of aliens unless they get some help for this timeline. The world’s militaries respond with drafting, and a huge number of well-trained people are sent into the future, but less than 20% survive, and there is always the need for more people to be sent to future. There are lots of rebellions against the war, because people feel that they are going to die anyway, and there is no need to finish one’s life much earlier. Everyone is depressed because there is the clear idea that it is the alien group that is going to win in the end, and there is no real hope related to that.

And what more is to follow? :: As the hope remains low, there is not much that there is left to be done, but the drafting goes on, and Dan is also chosen to fight in the war of the future. His family is not happy with what has happened, and his wife Emmy Forester (Betty Gilpin) hopes that he can find a way to bypass the drafting with the help of his father James Forester (JK Simmons), a former veteran soldier who has turned an anti-government activist after the Vietnam War. But he has to go anyway, and joins the team which is undergoing basic training under the troops from the future. But there is an emergency as there is an attack going on in the future, and without any further training which was to last about seven days, they are sent forward in time to Miami Beach but the coordinates get messed up, with most of the members of the team dying. Soon, they are ordered by Colonel Forester (Yvonne Strahovski) to rescue the nearby lab personnel and recover their research data before the area is bombed for clearance from alien infestation.

So, what happens with the events here? :: The team does manage to complete the mission, and they barely escape from the situation. Charlie (Sam Richardson), a techie, and Dorian (Edwin Hodge), a third time traveler into the future are the two survivors who are able to make it to the camp. Now, there is a lot to be done in a future, which seems to point towards human extinction, and the alien control over the planet one way or the other. In the new world of the future, they have to capture a female alien, and the types are rarer than the males which are basically everywhere. As they are living in a future where there are not many safe areas, with most of the continents already infested by the creatures which have reproduced enough to limit the human activity to certain areas, a research into causing the aliens to go extinct instead of humanity is a near possible adventure. The question also remains if there is a future that they can save, and if all these are worth the pain which they take.

The defence of The Tomorrow War :: There is an interesting future in store within The Tomorrow War, as this film with both aliens and time travel have you interested in the science fiction elements yet again. This is a combination which has worked really well before, with films like Edge of Tomorrow, working so well with the audience – being in a tomorrow with a war going on against aliens is a fair deal as far as any sci-fi fan is concerned. There is a lot of action in store here, and the alien detail is nice, even though having similarities with the Alien franchise which we have been missing since Prometheus and Alien Covenant, two films which had us asking for more. The visuals of the future Earth is also very nicely detailed, and the destroyed cities make us want to have more battles with aliens out there. The post-apocalyptic side of the film remains strong, thanks to all the action and the special effects, with the visuals never ceasing to remain stunning. This one can also have a prequel about the coming of the aliens, and maybe bring a franchise into motion.

Positives and negatives :: This is the kind of film which could have scenes which the Russian movie The Blackout had in its early stages, and that particular flick’s first half could actually be one interesting prequel to this one, with connections being made to the colder areas of Russia. There was surely scope for more terrifying sequences with aliens. To add to it, the pseudo-intellectuals can always find a reason to blame this film, but I am yet to discover what exactly would be their reason this time, for they have all randomly bashed Hollywood action films which were nothing less than grand. After all, it is not easy to make a film like this, and if Bollywood would try anything close, they can do nothing else than mess it up completely, with a long line of cast which is there in the name of nepotism instead of skills and quality. There are a few things which can be predicted here, and some of them come naturally to us, and not as surprises. There could have also been a few sequences about the missing years of alien attack, and a clearly defined theory about what has happened with the aliens.

Performers of the soul :: Chris Pratt whom we had last seen in Avengers: Endgame and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom gets to save the world again, and this time against the aliens. We could be having another Guardians of the Galaxy or Jurassic World in his usual roles, but this one has indeed established another memorable action role for him. Yvonne Strahovski is very much suitable to action flicks and thrillers, as we have seen before with The Predator, I, Frankenstein and Angel of Mine. But her presence in the future feels kind of restricted. Betty Gilpin has very less to do in comparison. JK Simmons has some nice moments to be added in the end. Others like Edwin Hodge and Sam Richardson are good additions to this kind of a movie. Others like Mary Lynn Rajskub, and and Seychelle Gabriel also have limited presence, but one would want them to have extended roles to play here. The film could have expanded rather than keeping its focus into the personal side in an alien invasion situation which is moving towards human extinction as well as the end of the world as we know it.

How it finishes :: The Tomorrow War will remind the audience of Edge of Tomorrow, even though the core idea remains different, and the film lacks someone like Emily Blunt in its full run. There is no denial of the fact that the film is complete entertainment, and you don’t really need to listen to some self-proclaimed great critics who write for some newspapers – they are more interested in providing lower reviews to science fiction in comparison to Bollywood nonsense as most of them are not able to understand the idea or enjoy the grandeur on the screen. You can only guess who impressive this would have been on the big screen, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the kind of films which can stun us with what is displayed on the screen with the special effects and maybe even a little bit of 3D effects. As of now, it seems that it is better for us to remember that feeling and enjoy the film on a laptop with Amazon Prime Video. After all, we are all restricted in that case, but not restricted as far as enjoying action-packed science fiction is concerned.

Release date: 2nd July 2021 (Amazon Prime)
Running time: 139 minutes
Directed by: Chris McKay
Starring: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, JK Simmons, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

<— Click here to go to the previous Hollywood review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Terminator: Dark Fate

Posted on by

What is the movie about? :: The movie is set after the events of Terminator: Judgement Day, as three years after defeating the T-1000 and preventing the unleashing of the artificial intelligence Skynet, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and John Connor (Jude Collie) are spending some time on a vacation far away from home, so that nobody can find them. They live with the feeling that there is no immediate threat from the future as they made sure that there would be no Skynet as the reason for the same no longer exists. Suddenly, another T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the later time line before Skynet’s fall in the future, arrives and kills John in front of her. Meanwhile, with Skynet no longer a threat, the future is altered significantly, as in present time, two more people are sent from the future with assigned missions.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: An advanced Terminator model, the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) is sent back in time to Mexico City with the mission of murdering one girl, and an a cybernetically-enhanced soldier Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is also sent to the present from the future to protect her. The two people from the year 2042 converge on one girl Daniella Ramos (Natalia Reyes) who is the new target. The machine kills her father Ramos (Enrique Arce) and brother Diego (Diego Boneta), but Grace manages to save her only to be attacked by the highly advanced terminator’s cybernetic endo-skeleton and shape-shifting liquid metal exterior, cornering them on a motorway. But they are saved by Sarah who arrives there in time, and sends the terminator to the backfoot, but fails to finish it off, as it moves to access the database to plan a more accurate attack.

And what else is to follow? :: With the terminator not on their direct trail as of now, Grace, Daniella and Sarah locks themselves in a room, and have a better understanding of the situation. Sarah has been hunting terminators who arrive from the future, as she would be texted their location from some unknown private number and coordinates which were also written above Grace’s abdomen. Grace comes from an altered future in 2042 in which there is no John or Skynet, but there is an advanced artificial intelligence known as Legion which was particularly designed for cyber-warfare. With Legion taking control of all servers resulting in a nuclear holocaust and the death of most of the population, the machines started hunting the surviving humans. With no food, shelter or hope to stand against the highly advanced machines, there is a new resistance, and Grace is a soldier who was seriously injured in a fight and was turned into a cyborg – now she has the toughest mission ahead!

The defence of Terminator: Dark Fate :: Arnold Schwarzenegger returning as the favourite Terminator never gets old, as it has had a great role to play in our childhood. With him returning, Terminator: Genisys was also a lot of fun. Here, the terminator stuff continues to be there with the same strength. There are those high powered and intense action sequences which are there throughout the movie. There are fights on the motorway, inside a factory, on a dam, and even in the air, with an airplane at the centre. The visuals are all nice, and there is also some humour with this one. The idea of the machines having a conscience is also there. The visions of a devastated future is nice, even though we have already seen things like that before, not just with Terminator movies, but with other action and science fiction titles. This movie does keep the Terminator franchise going well, and bring more sequels within this time line.

The claws of flaw :: We can see the case of repetition here, as the Terminator franchise struggles to add anything new to what was already there. There is the feeling that we have seen all these before, and we keep wondering if there would be different artificial intelligence systems known as Skynet, Genisys and Legion along with different people to be protected like John Connor and Daniella Ramos, known just by different names, varying only by ethnicity, gender etc. The idea is very close to expiry date if something innovate is not added – machines taking over the world and time travel are two very common things unlike how it was during the time of Judgement Day and Rise of the Machines. There is the need to take this to the next level with an advanced level of thinking rather than keeping the same thing happening again and again – maybe the time travel idea can be done with, and we can move to that future infested with deadly machines.

The performers of the soul :: Arnold Schwarzenegger once again carries another movie of the franchise on his shoulders – he has been doing this forever, except for being a very small part of the Christian Bale and Sam Worthington starrer, Terminator: Salvation. Arnold once again makes this movie better, and he never ceases to amaze us in the franchise. As he makes a return to the screen later in the movie, things get even more interesting. The same can’t be said about Linda Hamilton though, as her character and dialogues are badly written. Using the lines of the terminator, and fighting terminators at that age is absurd, unless you are a machine like Arnold plays. The character is too much of an exaggerated version, even though that can be added to some dumb fun. Mackenzie Davis is delightful to watch though, and she makes a great character, and fantastic during action sequences, proven from the first moment she lands. Natalia Reyes excels as the chosen, confused girl, even though not that much as the leader. Gabriel Luna makes another good terminator.

How it finishes :: The Arnold Schwarzenegger – Terminator childhood nostalgia should be the one thing that keep the audience here interested in the movie. But the audience is still limited, and in towns like Kothamangalam, there is zero female audience for this movie, as it was with movies like Aquaman – a surprising case which makes one wonder if the Hollywood movies except the Avengers stuff have been reduced to male audience in towns further away from Cochin. Well, if the focus was given on Arnold instead of getting Linda Hamilton more screen time, the problem would have been solved in this part of the world. After all, the effect that Arnold had created is greater than the same created by any other superstar has been creating these days. With Terminator: Dark Fate, it would have its audience for sure, and the same would have higher numbers in the multiplexes in the cities, as the Terminator franchise can grow from this with the new time line, moving towards the future.

Release date: 1st November 2019
Running time: 134 minutes
Directed by: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta, Linda Hamilton, Alicia Borrachero, Enrique Arce, Steven Cree, Tom Hopper, Jude Collie

<— Click here to go to the previous review, and earlier one.

<— Click here to go to the previous Hollywood review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Deadpool 2

Posted on by

What is the movie about? :: Years after murdering the man who gave him the mutant superpowers the hard way in the first movie, Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is working as a mercenary, but on his own terms, while mocking Wolverine. He hopes to start a family with his girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). But it is then that one of his targets whom he missed, manages to strike back, killing Vanessa in the process. Wade is quick to kill the man who is responsible for her death, and even tries to kill himself in an explosion; but he grows back as Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) takes him to join the X-Men, with Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) not being fond of the not-so-superhero joining the team. But Colossus has him as a trainee and lets him join them on their very next mission.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: After a vision of Vanessa, and trying to put his heart at the right place, he decides to help the X-Men to deal with a teenage mutant Russell Collins a.k.a. Firefist (Julian Dennison) who has gone violent at an orphanage for mutants. X-Men join with human soldiers to gain control over the mutant who is looking highly unstable. As Deadpool realizes that Russell was abused and tortured by the orphanage staff, he decides to help him, and ends up killing one of the staff members too, before being stopped by Colossus. Russell and Wade are taken to an isolated prison for mutants, known as Icebox. Collars are used to negate their powers, and without them, Wade slowly and steadily begins to go back to his previous state, with tumout growing inside him – he gets weaker than ever.

And what is follow with the events? :: It is then that a cybernetic soldier Cable (Josh Brolin) whose family is murdered by Russell in the future, travels back in time to kill him before he becomes that brutal murderer. Wade tries to defend Russell against Cable, but denies any attachment to him so that the boy could be safe inside the prison without him. Wade ends up outside the prison, and after having a vision of Vanessa again, decides to help Russell, no matter what happens. For the same, he assembles a team which he calls X-Force – Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard), Peter (Rob Delaney) and Vanisher (Brad Pitt) are hired to be part of the group, as they hope to stop the mutant warrior from future. But Russell has his own ideas to stop Cable, and it will not prove to be nice for the newly formed X-Force.

The defence of Deadpool 2 :: This one’s capability to bring some entertainment can never be questioned, especially with the comic side, and some action to go with it. You can see that it refers to movies in both Marvel and DC Universe, with references including the latter being so dark. The movie does have some nice main characters, other than its superhero and a kid who is conveniently placed in the middle of everything – it has one lady whose superpower is luck, and one of the most powerful mutants, along with a time traveler mutant warrior from the future – these two are of more strength than anyone else, and you can do nothing but to love them so much. Deadpool 2 is that kind of a movie which won’t apologize for its nonsense which is surely there, and is it is that kind of fun nonsense that we need to be prepared for, unlike our usual Thor: Ragnarok, Logan, Captain America: Civil War or Black Panther from Marvel.

The claws of flaw :: Well, Deadpool 2, just like Deadpool, is not the superhero movie for the kids and families – it just not the right kind of film. The violence and gore remains rather not that good, that too with the whole thing being censored to arrive at this level. Unlike the other superheroes, Deadpool is surely that kind of a person whom we can’t admire – he is that selfish hero in one way or the other, that we need to see dead; but he just doesn’t. This movie surely has no real respect for anyone either, and that is reflected on the character as well as the dialogues of the main character. Some of the dialogues which seem to be close to being funny never really gets there, and there are those jokes which go wandering away, leaving no effect at all. The action sequences could have been better too, and the emotional side struggles, thanks to some stupid dialogues in between.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is about the two people more than anyone ele – these two have played two big characters on the big screen in two different movies. Ryan Reynolds has been Green Lantern before, and it is that DC Universe that he makes fun of in this movie as Deadpool. Then there is Josh Brolin whom we last saw as Thanos, and here he is, as Cable, in the same Marvel Universe. Both of them are really good, making this movie better than what it really is, with its low level plot that doesn’t raise the bar. Zazie Beetz is great fun in this movie, and you also love Brianna Hildebrand who has less time on the screen, but has that special effect when there. Morena Baccarin is another actress whom we wanted to see more here, and as lovely as she is here, there is only less time for her to show here skills. The rest of the cast is just mostly okay.

How it finishes :: Deadpool was never known to be the superhero that someone would wish to admire for anything other than saving the day. Being a rather selfish hero, this one was never supposed to appeal to the usual superhero admirers – even with that selfless act added in the end. There seems to be no real attempt to make this one feel better than the first movie, and there is certainly no special ingredient added to it. But we can safely say that it will provide some entertainment with the funny side and the action that comes with it. The family audience will surely have to choose Avengers: Infinity War over this one or one of those Malayalam movies in the theatres. Well, the ‘A’ certificate is sure to make that happen easily.

Release date: 18th May 2018
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy, Stefan Kapicic, Terry Crews, Lewis Tan, Bill Skarsgard, Rob Delaney, Brad Pitt (cameo)

<— Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

About Time

Posted on by

abouttime (2)

Vampire Owl :: I waited so long for this movie to get released in India that I got very old.

Vampire Bat :: May be it just didn’t release in Cochin or we were on a trip when it released.

Vampire Owl :: But I got very old, nevertheless.

Vampire Bat :: Aren’t we already centuries old?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but I still got a lot older, and this time it is depressing.

Vampire Bat :: Didn’t your great ancestors have the power to go back in time and change the release date and screens of a movie?

Vampire Owl :: Yes, he could predict the situation that the worst movies will get released and there was nothing that we could do. He used to be a fan of an old form of vampire theatre. It was like, for tragedy everybody laughed and then he tried to change the meaning of tragedy and they just cut his head. He could travel in time no longer.

Vampire Bat :: So, he was the first revolutionary against bad drama, that theatre which represents movies now.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but the point is that he got his head cut off. You know the fans these days and what can happen to us.

Vampire Bat :: That is a fair point.

[Starts the car].

What is it about? :: Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson), a young man is told a family secret at the age of twenty one – that all the men of their family have a special gift, which is the ability for time travel, something which he needs to unlock and try now. But he will only be able to go back to his own experiences, those memories which he can remember well enough. He decides to use this newly found ability of his, to improve his chances of getting a lover. As he falls for his sister’s friend, Charlotte (Margot Robbie) who spends her holidays with them, he uses the time travel ability to make her fall in love with her, but understands that it will never happen as she will just keep making excuses as she already made her decision on him. But later, he would meet Mary (Rachel McAdams) by fate and both are interested in each other, but losses her while trying to help his friend by time travel. But he would use his skills to recreate some events which will take him back to meeting her and both once again fall in love with each other. But his time travel adventures doesn’t end there.

The defence of About Time :: This movie manages to be the smart and cute, happy and heart-warming love story that stands above most of the romantic love stories with its theme as well as its presentation, which is closer to true love and family relationships that it can get, making one wonder if Hollywood actually cares about such things when making movies of this genre – but About Time says, it was about time. The movie is powered by its powerful emotions, and leaves one with a sense of responsibility towards life and also to one’s own family. The movie flourishes in its emotions and runs strong like a river during the monsoon, whenever the family stuff comes to the scene. The romantic comedy is not far behind, as there are moments there, which makes us remember that it is not far away either. The movie has its layers, and each one has something there, hiding some messages which we can take home. The combining of sci-fi-, rom-com and family drama works like a dream here.

Positives and Negatives :: Yes, finding negatives with this movie has not been too difficult with the critics, but it is not easy as far as I am concerned. Yes, the combination of three genres might be strange at times, and the movie not be what some people had expected with its family drama which overtakes the romance and the science fiction most of the people wanted to watch. You can find the time travel paradox and also ask a few question about that, but that is never expected to take the centre stage. The exact central point of the movie is its message for life. About Time is powerful in its heart and soul, and that much you have to give to the movie, no matter what else good or bad you can find here. Keep your own heart and soul at the right place while watching this movie, and these are the kind of movies which can rise above the limitations of a usual romance-sex-comedy.

Performers of the soul :: The movie has a brilliant performance from Domhnall Gleeson, but wait till Rachel McAdams arrives to take your beath away, and the chemistry between the two works like a true love dream. This lady was also there in The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I would say that this is a lot better movie and she is too good in this one. She might have looked better as the younger self in that movie, but look out for her performance in this one. Yes, the presence of the same lady lead might have confused a few, but About Time reigns supreme if there is a war of the romantic time travel fiction. Then there is the surprise package in the form of Bill Nighy as the father, that dad that everybody would want to have, and I would die and be reborn to have. He is someone who has known to love his son and has always found the little joys of his time with his son worth living. He has wonderfully portrayed the perfect father for whom we reserve our tears. Margot Robbie also gets attention in her smaller role, and Lydia Wilson as the sister of the protagonist – Kit Kat is lovable.

Soul exploration :: About Time leaves us with a strong message to live in the moment, and there are things that cannot be changed. Even if you had a certain time travel ability, the things that are to happen, will happen; those things that you have changed were supposed to be changed, and this knowledge whether it can be changed or not can be obtained only by trying, and it is a need to try. It is never late to appreciate life, and the best things come to those who wait, and not those who feel the emergency and hurry up on life. It shows that true love waits, and no matter how much you think that some thing are less important, they are not. It is our responsibility to know that family always comes first, especially with the kind of parents who have cared for you. This is as close to a righteous romantic comedy as one can get, with emotional, love for family and true love. This tale uses the science fiction elements to support this cause.

How it finishes :: Even as this is a romantic comedy, I would advice watching this one with family – it is because its message of love transcends and chooses to rise higher as well as deeper, making it a powerful family movie in its core. It take its elements of true love and science fiction and it digs deep, and comes out of it as a movie for everyone who loves one’s family. I suggest you get a fictional time machine which you can use to erase your questions about many things and replace it with a positive attitude about life. I thought I could do that, but I have come too far to do that. I haven’t listened to myself enough for that throughout my past. But this movie reminds me that, it is never too late, and may be, I will have a chance at everything when the wheel of time turns. Life will give you that opportunity, and I can choose to listen to those idiots, backstabbers and supposed to be successful people (or parents of successful people), waiting for my opportunity. It has to come, because life goes on and you shouldn’t worry too much about the past.

Release date: 3rd November 2013
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Richard Curtis
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Lydia Wilson, Margot Robbie, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Joshua McGuire, Tom Hughes, Vanessa Kirby, Will Merrick, Lisa Eichhorn

abouttime

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Edge of Tomorrow

Posted on by

edgeoftomorrow (2)

Vampire Owl :: So it is about going to the past again and again, right?

Vampire Bat :: No, there is also the thing about changing past and thus alter the present. Ask Wolverine.

Vampire Owl :: What about planting an idea in a dream which also alters the present? Or try it the H.G. Wells way?

Vampire Bat :: That would need scientific equipment. For now, I think the driver of this bus also thinks that he can go back to the past and start it over when he dies. This is too fast.

Vampire Owl :: As there is no alien invasion yet, we should be safe; unless the aliens started with his house this time instead of the United States of America.

Vampire Bat :: I can only hope that aliens look like mutated vampire bats.

Vampire Owl :: I would prefer demons.

[Reaches the destination].

What is it about? :: The humans and the alien forces called Mimics have been in war for quite a long time now. United Defence Forces (UDF) has been created for the same purpose, and with new inventions and some inspired leadership, the humans have been able to score some victories. William Cage (Tom Cruise) is also asked to join the fight, but when he disagrees and tried to get himself out of it, is deprived of his current military rank and is sent to the military base of the Heathrow Airport to take part in the upcoming battle against the aliens. But when the attack begins, he realizes that the creatures know about the attacks and the plans of the human opponents. He is also killed, but not before destroying a Mimic and getting coated in its blood. Then he wakes up at Heathrow Airport yet again and goes though the same things again. He goes through the same things and gets killed again only to wake up again at the same time. He tries to tell the soldiers that the invasion will be failure, and also tries to save a few of them, but the restart continues until he saves the life of Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) who knows about it and asks him to find her when he wakes up. From here, he is turned into a weapon, and the objectives change.

The defence of Edge of Tomorrow :: The movie has absolutely no drag, as it keeps itself to action throughout. The action sequences are impressive, and so are the special effects. The aliens are nice creatures and are mostly a form of spider-octopus hybrid, closer to the creature from the water. The first few attempts in this reset are actually funny, and there are some indirect comedy that the movie has. The movie never losses its power to entertain and never does it get much emotional. The absence of the horrible emotions which comes in each and every alien movie actually becomes a plus point here. The movie has awesome electronic devices, not only with the stylish gadgets including weapons, but also the sight of the airbase which has lots of interesting stuff around. The movie also reminds us of the flick called Source Code, but in a nice way. Edge of Tomorrow has an idea, and it might not have been the most original ones, but it is surely interesting and the way in which they have presented it needs a lot of appreciation. This is a science fiction and an action thriller and remains so throughout, and now that is often more than enough.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is based on the Japanese All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka about which I know less about. I might just try to read a translated version some day, so as to know if it is any better than the movie itself. The movie has a better first half than the second, but the latter is not far behind. The climax fails to be special as the movie though, but that is mostly because the expectations were too high considering what kind of a ride the movie had provided us with. The ending is also less interesting, and it also leaves room for ambiguity. There is another awakening that happens in the end, and we are not sure why it actually happens or why it happens that way, but the bigger question will be about the state of aliens which is also kept in the dark. It was indeed on the weaker side, and the weakness of the movie comes in the end. There is a certain amount of laziness that comes in the end and leaves with a little less satisfaction. Didn’t this movie deserve more? A better ending could have made sure that the movie had started well and finished nicely too, but this one wants to win in a super over and lets see if they have made it so hoping to make a possible sequel in future. But that is just a minor thing.

Performers of the soul :: Tom Cruise comes up with a great performance right here. Well, he is surely the reason why most of the people actually decided to go into the theatre, and it is a fact that he is one of the popular Hollywood stars around here. We remember seeing him in the other alien invasion movie which was Oblivion, going back to 2013. It was rather emotional and slow while this one rarely has the time to work to work on such stuff as it goes on with all the action right from the beginning to end, and it is safe to say that he excels in both. He still seems to have the energy that he always had. The more interesting character here should be Emily Blunt as Sergeant Rita Vrataski or “the Angel of Verdun” and “the Full Metal Bitch” as she plays a very special soldier, a heroic figure in this one. Her character is not just strong, but also smart and selfless as the super-soldier who massacred a huge number of aliens and brought her people close to victory. She doesn’t just look like a beautiful soldier who goes on destroying the aliens, as she steals the show when she gets into the act. From that shot when she is taking push-ups, we can be sure that she means business.

Soul exploration :: Live; Die; Repeat – now that is something that reminds me of my golden age of computer gaming. It is what we all do, in a game as we load the saved game and go back to where we had that opportunity to save our progress. We can see the parallel in this movie also, as the protagonist go back to a certain point instead of a long way back, and he tries again and again to alter the situation doing different things or rather doing things in a different way. He is desperate to change the fate of the world each time he goes into battle only to die again, as we gamers attempt to clear a stage of the game. The one game which this movie reminds me of, should be Crysis and its expansion Crysis Warhead. It was the game in which I lived, killed aliens, died, came back and killed aliens more than any other. I can also recollect a certain amount of similarities in the looks of the aliens, especially of the alpha creature. So, it is indeed the game mode revisited without control over anything on screen. For me, it was Crysis, and even when it was not it, still there was the game element in it. Not everyone has a life to loss to regain it again, only a gamer does; unless you are one mythical creature.

How it finishes :: Edge of Tomorrow has already managed to get some nice opinion from the critics and the audience – I shall also agree to the same. This should also be a great time to release this one, with Maleficent weakening significantly, and the multiplexes having The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla and X-Men: Says of the Future Past giving the competition. Bollywood’s Holiday doesn’t seem to impress much, and the Malayalam flick Bangalore Days is not for the same kind of people. May be this is the science fiction movie you have been waiting for, and I have heard a lot of positive opinions about this one from the sources which I consider to be of great value. There is Tom Cruise who can bring a lot of audience to the theatres without playing a superhero or fairy tale character, and this support that he has, will be significant in its success here. I would recommend it as the movie of the weekend, as well as the second best of 2014 after Captain America II: The Winter Soldier. With a better climax and ending, Edge of Tomorrow could have got a clear lead.

Release date: 6th June 2014
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Riley, Kick Gurry, Dragomir Mrsic, Jonas Armstrong, Franz Drameh, Masayoshi Haneda, Tony Way, Noah Taylor

edgeoftomorrow copy

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Days of Future Past

Posted on by

daysoffuturepast (2)

The X-Men Legend :: The legend of X-Men starts in the theatre with the 2000 movie X-Men, made better by X2: X-Men United later, and undoubtedly ruined by X-Men Last Stand with whatever they managed to do with just one mutant character, Jean Grey. That was supposed to be the ending of X-Men watching for me, and there the director had changed, but the one who director the first two X-Men movies are now back with X-Men: Days of the Future Past. X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: First Class were really good and the latter was rather an impressive flashback to the origin of the first mutants with a nice background of the Cold War, while The Wolverine was a little bit of let down even as it can still be considered okay enough under most of the circumstances. With this franchise from Marvel, we get a movie which has been around with more than nine out of ten rating in imdb and ninety four percent critical rating in rotten tomatoes, something which not many superhero movies could achieve. So this was indeed a movie not to be missed, and a even my delay of one day was depressing for me.

What is it about? :: The story goes quite some way into the future, as there are non-metallic robots which are hunting the mutants as a result of years of human research to find a solution to the mutant existence. At the same time, the robots have also managed to go beyond its instructions oppressing the humans as they are the source of mutants coming into existence later. As Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) has the ability to project a person’s consciousness back to the past and warn others, a group of mutants surivive, including Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Storm (Halle Berry), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Blink (Fan Bingbing), Warpath (Booboo Stewart), Bishop (Omar Sy) and Kitty herself. As they are pretty sure that they will be caught soon, they decide to use Kitty’s ability to send Wolverine back to 1973 to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from murdering Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) who invents the robot assassins whose idea and a captured Mystique’s DNA will be used to create the killing machines in the future as the dead man becomes a sort of martyr. So, can Wolverine do well enough?

The defence of X-Men: Days of the Future Past :: The beauty of this movie is how it has managed to work on its story with its powerful connection to the other X-Men movies, and as this is set in the future, this has a little bit to relate to every other movie of the franchise, especially X2: X-Men United, X-Men: Last Stand and X-Men: First Class. The whole thing is nicely managed here without causing any disruption to all that have already been established in those previous movies. Even with the lesser amount of action sequences, they have done what all were there very nicely, with the robots fighting the mutants, a battle which could have used a little more smartness, but they are visual treats even if one-sided for the most part. The presence of the character Quicksilver is a boost too even when limited to one fight. The movie gets on with its world quite fast too, making sure that the boredom that can cause by explaining about the characters is not there, and if there is the need to know more, the viewers can watch the other X-Men movies. Now, with the time space continuum altered, may be some of the incidents of the movie never happened or might not happen, may be that can give scope for a difference sequence of events in upcoming X-Men movies.

The claws of flaw :: The 3D makes an attempt to prove itself unnecessary as the movie progresses; the positive side was only in the beginning with the credits. The movie also drags in the middle, with a lot of dialogues rather wasted. The thrills that is supposed to be there from the beginning works at a weaker level through the movie, as there is not enough action in between to support it. Except for the action in the beginning and the end related to the robots where the mutants lose in all cases, there is no real impressive battle except for a little Magneto trick and Quicksilver show. The special effects should have been used better and there should have been lots of action, but they have sacrificed those elements just to add some drama. Still, it is not different from most of the usual superhero movies, especially the X-Men related ones. The characters don’t seem to get into the situation much, and there is rather too much confusion between them. This one should tried to bring more thrills and action from the material that they had, and in the case of mutants, they should have put their powers to use more frequently and efficiently, but that is not there. Then they decided to get rid of Quicksilver who scored so well, and that is a shame.

Performers of the soul :: If someone has to be applauded from his first appearance to the last, it has to be Michael Fassbender, as he is the one who stands out in this movie, making his character the one to look out for. James McAvoy has his moments, but this younger version of Professor is rather impressive only in moments. Jennifer Lawrence shines as the unique mutant Mystique and it was great to watch whenever she was there, but the question would remain if there could have been more in a movie which is based on her and the whole thing is dependent on her actions. Hugh Jackman is once again the Wolverine with style, but this version is rather passive, without that recklessness and anger that we identify the character with, and that was disappointing. Seriously, why would the Wolverine be not aggressive? It is a shame that Anna Paquin’s Rogue was just a cameo, she was one of my favourites with Nightcrawler who is again missing. Evan Peters’ Quicksilver might impress more than many other mutants in just the few minutes that he is present while Nicholas Hoult’s Beast becomes less significant. Meanwhile, Ellen Page and the rest of the mutants of the future present has limited presence compared to those of the past.

Soul exploration :: The movie continues to deal with the basic mutant problem with the human fear for the unknown and the alienation of the other that follows. The end-point of all of these is holocaust, by exaggeration of things which might seem to project the possible extinction with more power than ever. Once again Trask Industries becomes what Stark Industries wasn’t in The Avengers and related movies, being the dark force of science and technology against the one that powered Iron Man. Just with words re-arranged, this industry once again asks the familiar question for those essays at school – “technology: boon or bane?” I thought they were finished with that, but this question might always remain with the technology being an advantage only for the rich and the need to go to space rather than saving Earth. The questions that should be evoked might be about the results of changing the past. It is impossible to change it, but even if it is changed, how will the future respond? Are some things always supposed to happen, no matter how hard we try to change it? Yes, everything seemed to work well by the end of the movie, but how can we be sure about that until a sequel comes to light?

How it finishes :: This franchise might have finished with X-Men 3: The Last Stand, but it didn’t, and came up with two successful origin movies for its most popular character and also created another success without him in the form of X-Men: First Class. The movie also leaves the franchise with endless possibilities to go towards many directions. The destruction of a timeline or rather the disruption of the same can effectively trigger a reboot or many other movies in between. It might seem like a risk, but there are lots of things that it can achieve for a superhero franchise. You might wish to finish watching the other movies of the franchise before watching this one. Then there is always the presence of someone like Jennifer Lawrence who transforms not just like Mystique, but also like Katniss Everdeen becoming Raven – now the question remains, will this change of the past which makes her not an assassin land her somewhere else than not with Magneto? May be with X-Men or as a neutral? How surprising can it be if she is also part of that same school of Professor X? There is a lot to expect from another X-Men movie, that is for sure.

Release date: 23rd May 2014
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Evan Peters, Fan Bingbing, Adam Canto, Lucas Till, Booboo Stewart, Josh Helman, Mark Camacho, Evan Jonigkeit, Gregg Lowe

daysofuturepast copy

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Men in Black III

Posted on by

mib3 (5)

What is MiB3? :: It is the third movie in the Men in Black series which comes as quite a surprise as the first movie released in 1997 and the second in 2002; now with fifteen years gone after the first movie and ten years passed after the second, one would easily think that the series based on Lowell Cunningham’s The Men in Black comic book series might have been done and can return only as a reboot or a perfect remake. But what happened in 2012 was indeed surprising as the alien-dealing protectors of the Earth has returned once again – five years between the first two movies, and ten between the second and the third, and Mathematics doesn’t favour a fourth, but I am not the one who would believe in numbers. One thing about which we can be sure as long as this series is considered, and it is that the movie was a hit even before it was released – I would have been surprised otherwise, and the men dressed in black has scope for even more sequels.

The Setting :: Men in Black (M.I.B) is a top-secret non-government agency that deals with extraterrestrial alien invasions, connections and refugees. It keeps the details of all the aliens who come to Earth and helps those who wishes to make a living on the planet, and at the same time fights any possible alien invasions or other kind of threats to the planet (May be they know about Superman’s presence too). The agency operates from an underground base of operations about which not even any of the world governments or spies are aware of. MIB agents use certain kind of devices called neuralyzers to wipe out the memories of the witnesses who have seen or felt any kind of alien presence, and thus keep their secret alive and away from being noticed. Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (Will Smith) are the top operatives for this organization and our protagonists once again, with another adventure which comes from outside Earth.

What is it about? :: Boris the Animal, the last of the alien species called Boglodites which consumed all planets in their path, escapes from a prison in moon. He is seeking vengeance on Agent K, who had shot and separated his left arm and imprisoned him in the year 1969. It is seen that one day, K just vanishes and there is no clue about him – it is as if only J remembers that he existed. He finds out that J died in 1969 and Boris the Animal as well as the whole species of Boglodites remain free and ready attack Earth. As it was K who came up with a shield to safeguard Earth and annihilated the Boglodites, it is found out tht Boris went back in time to murder K and thus make sure that he kept his left arm as well as his freedom, along with his race with all the power. Now J has to travel back in time at a time when time-travel is illegal and thus risky, and stop the current age Boris from uniting with the Boris of 1969 and killing K as well as saving Earth from the invasion.

The defence of MiB3 :: Well, this third movie of the series is almost as good as its predecessors, just trailing by may be a few points. It has a lot of fun, and works right as an action comedy. There are also the good special effects an nice CGI, even as there is nothing spectacular, nor there is the need for much. It is one of the best alien comedies too, and as a movie which doesn’t take itself seriously, it scores correctly. It also has a good number of aliens in store, not that you haven’t seen them already, but for those who might have not, and also for those who might have forgotten these two gentlemen in black, there was that “setting” section. Its combination of science fiction with comedy and the introduction of time travel makes it a fine combination of things. There are also those gadgets which looks interesting even if they belong to 1969 which is more of our 2069 in one way or the other. Like it, because even Batman comes only in black, or as they say in that Lego Trailer, very very dark grey.

The claws of flaw :: There is usually a curse associated with the third movie of the series, as they might not be the best of the franchise – I expect such things to happen in case of another sequel to Taken, and it has already happened with Blade 3, Alien 3, Species 3, Jaws 3 and a lot of other movies which you might recollect with a few seconds of thinking. Don’t think like that, for this one survives. But after waiting this long, does this get any better? The answer would be no. And does this offer anything new other than time-travel added? Once again a big no. Couldn’t they have come up with something other than time-travel for this third movie? I did think about it with no answers. There is no new addition or interesting stuff to suit the age, and there are moments when one wonders which direction this is going. Add Alice Eve’s hairstyle to an alien world – thats shocking indeed. The characters of Boris and Griffin were a little less interesting compared to the potential they had.

Performers of the Soul :: Will Smith has another one in his pocket, and a lot of us remember him as Agent J. He goes through the movie with ease, just like the previous movies of the series. Tommy Lee Jones is fine with the time when he is there, as his younger version is played by Josh Brolin who perfects the character. So, there are obviously three of them this time, and joining them is the present version of Agent O (Emma Thompson) and the lady’s 1969 version played by Alice Eve whose hairstyle shocks us to that extent that we wonder if she is actually an alien. But they are both good at what they have been doing in the movie, especially our older version. Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal is good, but not that awesome a villain as one was expecting. Michael Stuhlbarg’s Griffin add more funny dimensions, but there was scope for more with that character. There is also that twist in the end in which all the cast do a wonderful job.

How it finishes :: Men in Black 3 tries to extend the range of the series, and is successful in it. But with the lack of innovation and repetitive stuff, one has to wonder how far the franchise can stay alive. There is always the Will Smith factor to save it though. He doesn’t seem to age much, and he has the energy in him to bring more out of Agent J. May be one of the later movies in the series can come up with our favourite moment in an alien movie history, and as Griffin says, “unless this is the one where…” – as long as there is scope for aliens, there is hope. This one had no particular aim or reason for existing in an year in which The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises were always supposed to rule and become the movies of the year, along with a Hobbit and a Bond dropping in. It does finish tenth in the list of highest grossing movies of the year, but I would rather be surprised that it grossed more than the movies like Prometheus, Dredd and John Carter by a big margin. For now, it is yes for Men in Black 4.

Release date: 25th May 2012
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bill Hader, David Rasche, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve

mibiii copy

@ Cemetery Watch
✠The Vampire Bat.