Foxcatcher (4/4)

Foxcatcher has presented some of the best transformations of popularly known actors in years. Not just physically, but completely. You have never seen Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo like this. And you probably will never imagine Steve Carrell like this. Both Ruffalo (oscar nominated) and Channing (surprisingly not nominated!) have given wonderful performances as the Schultz brothers, both world champion, olympic gold winning freestyle wrestlers. But Steve truly surprises you with his portrayal of infamous John du Pont, the eccentric, sociopathic, crazy millionaire sports enthusiast and "coach" of the Team Foxcatcher. 

Movies based on truth and real stories are always interesting, because it has really happened. But to keep those movies still intriguing could be a difficult task. Bennett Miller succeeds in doing that. Even though there are lots of discrepancies from the real story, what you see is not just a journey of few sportsmen and their sports, but also story of revelation of human weaknesses with lack of love, compassion, kindness in their lives. The scenes are well written, with not too much dialogue and enough for actors to act.

You may not like this movie if sports movie or biographical dramas are not your cup of tea. If you have any are interested in seeing some of your favorite actors transform, in a well written, acted and directed sports-crime drams. This is your movie!

American Sniper (3/4)

Is war good or is war bad? Is being a soldier and a killer, synonymous? Is it easy? Is it justified? Is it all fault of a war? Was Iraq war justified in any way?

There are too many questions you may ask after watching American Sniper. But one thing is definite that it's a brilliant movie. It shows effect & trauma of a war on soldiers, through a brilliantly written screenplay and some amazing performances, all towered by Bradley Cooper's performance as the deadliest sniper in American history, Chris Kyle.It shows transformation of a young man into a soldier and into a deadly assassin, dedicatedly defending what he truly believes in. You can feel his enthusiasm, his pain, his trauma and his joys through Bradley's brilliant performance. It may even remind you of The Hurt Locker at times, but comparison is just and positive. American Sniper is not Hurt Locker, but it's strong and good. 

At times during the second half, it does get repetitive to some extent. But it catches very fast and gets back to business. The war scenes are taut and well done. Action sequences have a good pace and keep you engaged. The other characters except Kyle seem underdeveloped and you may feel that the complexity of the Iraq war is not truly explained. But this is more of the story of Kyle and what he went through relating it to PTSD that our soldiers suffer through and conditions of veterans. And it does a good job of it. 

If you don't like war movies or have string opinions against Iraq wars and others, this may not be a movie for you. If you like soldier and war films, or taut stressed action films, this would be something you will definitely enjoy. And you could also watch this movie for Clint Eastwood's and/or Bradley Cooper.

Boyhood (4/4)

This movie deserves points just for the innovation, for bringing a story that truly develops characters in front of your eyes. It's not every day, when a movie takes 12 years to make. A movie that retains it's cast and crew for 12 years, and continues to make that movie. That's what Boy Hood does, and does it beautifully. And it does with a brilliant screenplay and some excellent performances by Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and others. Boyhood is a true coming-of-age drama, a movie about the boy Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) who grows from 6 to 18, on your screen. It's also analysis of complex family relationships of father-son, mother-son, husband-wife and siblings too.

When Mason's parents get divorced, his sister and him continue living with mom while the father is part of their life with occasional visits only. Through years, as Mason and his sister Samantha are growing in front of you, you also see their mom Olivia struggling through relationships, not able to find her perfect man, but never distracted from the mission of protecting her kids. Mason Sr. is only a visiting father but he's till able to provide his kids with love, guidance and fatherly affection that a kid needs. It does show the difficulties of a divorce and separation, but also shows that there is hope as long as the parents love and care for their child. 

You may not like this movie if you do not like emotional family dramas or scared about idea of seeing someone actually growing into an adult in 2 hours, in front of you. You'll like this movie if you enjoy sensible movies which can represent complex family relationships and dynamics. And if you want to see the adult and young boy in the movie, actually being the same guy!

Whiplash (4/4)

What makes a brilliant teacher? What makes an excellent student? What makes an extraordinary performer? What makes an exceptional film? Well.. there might be answers to some of these questions in Damien Chazelle's brilliantly written screenplay is as brilliantly acted by the cast including Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons in one of his best performances till date.

Terence Fletcher (Simmons) is a Jazz instructor at one of the most reputed music school in the country called Shaffer's studio and Andrew Neiman (Teller) is a ambitious student there, is a very talented drummer but kinda shy. Does Terence see true hidden talent in Andrew, or does he just a hard pushing, frustrated and narcissist, inhuman being? The movie goes from ups and downs of all kind, taking really unexpected turns until the end. The climax scene with Andrew playing does become little stretched and even embarrassing for few minutes, but that's the essence. Keep going without caring, until you get what you want, what you deserve.

You may not like this movie if you can't take abusive narcissist leaders (your boss? someone you know? lol) or don't care much about music. You'll love the movie if you're a jazz fan, a music fan, or just fan of hardcore inspirational go-getter movies!

Birdman (4/4)

There are only few movies that can be fictional, but still feel real, even with supernatural elements. Birdman is one of those movies. It tells a story of washed-up yesteryears superstar, who played a successful superhero 'Birdman' (Batman? Well, Bat is not totally a bird!), franchise decades ago. Does it sound like someone you know? Well, it is Michael Keaton playing Riggan Thomson in this movie. And then you have this brilliant method actor, who's kinda crazy, narcissistic and unpredictable. Reminds you of anyone? It's Mike Shiner, played by Edward Norton here. You gotta give credit to producers & director credit for that casting!

It's a movie where a person is searching for his true self worth. That person happens to be an actor here, with a broken family (divorced wife, resentful daughter coming out of rehab) and shattered dreams (wannabe acclaimed and respected actor, director & artist). Performances by entire cast are just top notch, everyone is amazing! Norton is brilliant as usual but Emma surprises you as well with a accurate portrayal of her part. Keaton is definitely at his career best, playing 4 characters in same movie (Riggan, Birdman and 2 characters on stage) with true conviction and brilliance. It's not just excellent acting, directing and writing but the cinematography and camera work is unique (makes you feel like one continuous shot of almost entire movie) and very impressive. 

If you don't like experimental-ish good cinema, you may not like this. Or if you hate Michael Keaton or Edward Norton or Emma Stone... But any movie lover should just love this movie. It's a must watch, great movie!

P.S. Do you know what happens at the end? I think Riggan is not dead, he either really becomes Birdman (it's a movie!) or she's just gotten crazy like him and can see him as Birdman too. But Riggan shouldn't be dead... I want to see Birdman 2!