Friday, December 30, 2011

Movies and Reviews

Sherlock Holmes-above average 

Robert Downey Jr reprises his role as the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes who lives off a 'jungle diet of coffee, tobacco and coca leaves'. Jude Law is back as Dr Watson, his sidekick.
Ritchie's sequel highlights Holmes stunt skills more than anything else. The train sequence when Holmes comes to Watson's aid, scene when Holmes and co. are chased by bullets that tear across their coats in slo-mo are superbly entertaining.
However more than the action, it is yet again the chemistry between the lead actors that holds the movie together for you. The banter between Holmes and Watson keeps you alive in a film that otherwise slumps to boredom owing to its monotony in terms of the shallow storyline.
The sequel gives the much talked about bromance a little more time and prominence. Watson finally disengages himself from Holmes to get married to his love Mary ( Kelly Reilly). Sherlock's slight hesitance at losing him to marriage, Holmes calling their 'friendship' as 'relationship' and finally the two doing a waltz! Holmes's fondness for Watson is made open this time around.
RDJ and Jude Law are terrific together with their comic timing, one liners and chemistry. Robert Downey plays his eccentric, scruffy character with finesse. His natural quick-wit makes him perfect as Holmes. Law is stoic and delightful as Watson.

Mission Impossible-Excellent
Ghost Protocol brims with scenes that are exciting and amazing at the same time; they're brought off with such casual aplomb that they're funny, too. Early on, Hunt and a fellow agent, the nattering tech nerd Benji (Simon Pegg), have to penetrate the archive room of the Kremlin, and they do it in captivating silence by hiding behind a scrim that projects, to the security guard, an exact image of the hallway they're in (minus the two of them). It's the spy equivalent of a magic trick, and that's the spirit of the whole movie. Ghost Protocol is fast and explosive, but it's also a supremely clever sleight-of-hand thriller. 
It's become easy to take Tom Cruise's skill for granted (even his fans do), but in Ghost Protocol he has a pulsating presence, a dynamic mind-body fusion. From the moment he gets broken out of a Russian prison cell, only to argue with Benji via video feed as chaotic violence swirls all around him, Cruise energizes the film with his no-sweat bravura. He kicks butt like an Ultimate-Fighting bruiser, he races vehicles like a demon — but more than any of that, he invests every line, every situation, with the cleanly intense, fired-up concentration of an actor who means it. Powered by Cruise's moxie, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol proves that in a Hollywood action-ride ­culture drenched in fake adrenaline, it's cathartic to encounter the real thing.

We Bought a Zoo
The film is loosely based on the story of Benjamin Mee and his book chronicling the purchase and saving of a zoo. Damon plays Mee, a widower looking to give his son, Dylan (Colin Ford), and daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), a new start. He settles on a charming house sitting on 18 acres of land inhabited by lions, tigers, lemurs, a grizzly bear and much more.
The zoo comes with a staff, populated by the likes of Kelly (Scarlett Johansson), left in charge of the zoo and its animals after it was closed to the public. There’s also the goofy Lily (Elle Fanning), Kelly’s niece being home-schooled at the zoo and working in the small restaurant. The woman and the girl provide significant chances for Benjamin and Dylan to shake out of their funks.
Crowe pours it on thick with the emotional stuff, sometimes with success. Damon gets to show his comic and emotional range throughout the pic. His moment reminiscing about his wife while viewing pictures on his laptop is exceptionally moving. And the film’s closing scene is actually one of the finer sequences Crowe has ever put to film.


As Benjamin says, "all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage to change your life." There's a lot of fun waiting at We Bought a Zoo, but it's the feelings that run through every scene scene that'll make you glad you came.

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