Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015) (3/4)

As the title explains,the movie talks about tomorrow, the future. The future world with immensely advanced technologies.. Which is like a dream for everyone. And it talks about the  disasters that advancement could bring… its how we drive ourselves to the destruction of human race.

***spoilers***

The movie starts by Frank Walker (George Clooney) narrating the story of his life to the audience, which goes like this - An ambitious kid who is optimistic dreamer and who does believe in himself strongly and in his strengths of making anything possible...a small intelligent boy who goes to New York to represent his talents to the World Fair, and falls in love with a mysterious girl ‘Athena’ (Raffey Cassidy) who helps him realize his dreams, and he follows. And we don't know from where another story bumps in and gets linked. It’s a bit ambiguous initially but later we understand it all. Maybe the director Brad Bird does it to keep the audience bound and interested. Back again to the plot - There is this girl, Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) who dreams of visiting the stars and is quite brilliant herself. She gets the last button from the mysterious girl, which connects her to the future, maybe I should call it Tommorowland. Later she realizes that it was all planned to happen and she was chosen by someone for a big purpose. She chases them and finally reaches to that amazing world she could only dream of, only to find out the troubles it was causing. But being a person who never gives up, a true optimist, a true dreamer, she fights it against all the odds and finally, as it happens in our beautiful Disney movies, all falls into right place and they, Cathy, Athena and Frank become the saviors of the world.

***spoilers end***

Disney's Tomorrowland comes to theaters May 22, 2015! From Disney comes two-time Oscar® winner Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland," a riveting mystery adventure starring Academy Award® winner George Clooney. Bound by a shared destiny, former boy-genius Frank (Clooney), jaded by disillusionment, and Casey (Britt Robertson), a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as "Tomorrowland."

I leave it to you to watch the movie and know what happened exactly, what issue they fought off and how. It’s an interesting plot with a nice message of never giving up and dreaming big and doing everything possible to make your dreams come true. Also, the imagination and special effects were pretty, nice with ability to bring you some giggles in the midst of some serious issue. I must mention that the performance of all actors are quite good but Raffey’s performance was especially brilliant. With all these, Tommorowland registers itself in the list of another cool colorful dreamland Disney movie with a sci-fi touch. I would recommend you all to watch it!

Note: These ratings and review are personal opinion of the author.

This movie got “sequelized” | Avengers-2 (2/4)

Ultron lays out his plans for decimating Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the latest trailer for Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron," in theaters May 1!

I know many people may not love me for this, but I have to be honest about my opinion, before I make any recommendations about this movie... So, should you watch this film? Yes. If you’re a Marvel movie fan, you should. Maybe even in theater, if you want to. It is a movie worth watching in theater. Is it great? No. It’s probably the worst Marvel movie of current franchise. Why? Because it got “sequelized”. What does that mean? It means, it has all the drawbacks of a not-so-great sequel. It repeats similar storyline, similar character plots, similar actions sequences, similar jokes & humor, similar movie as the previous one, but not as good!

The first ‘Avengers’ was 4/4, in my opinion. I have loved all the Ironman movies so far and all other Marvel movies as well. They are all rated between 3 or 4. Every new movie builds more to the storyline and character. It keeps enhancing at getting better in some ways. But this one, kinda falls flat… The jokes don’t work that well. Action scenes seem repetitive. Robert Downey Jr looks tired as Tony Stark. And the main villain ‘Ultron’, he just ends up being a “weirdo”. Not scary, not menacing, not crazy either, just weird. Even end of credit scene was not as COOL as usual, not for me!

So what’s good about it? ‘Quicksilver’ and ‘Scarlet Witch’ are fun, and good addition to the cast. It’ sgreat to see Paul Bettany as ‘Vision’, he is awesome, would have loved to see more of him. ‘Steve Rogers’ is funny and cool, catching up with the new world around him. Mark Ruffalo as ‘Bruce Banner’ is really good too; he should get his own movie now. Good to see Hawkeye back and it’s good to see some background story of his explained. Same for some other characters too. The momentary action and excitement is still there, although none of it lasts. Nick Fury still has the wittiest lines. But surprisingly enough, ‘Ultron’ is funny. More funny than I would expect or want, but he is funny. And it’s overall a FUN movie to watch. Just not much here, to feel GREAT about. I think, I just had higher expectations.

You should watch this film if you have watched all or most other Marvel movies and you’re a marvel fan. If you’re not, or haven’t seen others, just don’t worry about it. Go watch Ironman and Avengers!

Check out more about the film at their official site here, http://marvel.com/avengers

The Gambler (3/4)

“This film is not about addiction,” said Mark during the NYC press conference in 2014.

Despite the title, trailer and log lines that film really isn't about an out of control addict—who knew? Well, Mark knew so now you can enjoy this gritty film “not about” addiction but about power, greed, money and more greed.

 “The Gambler” is a loose remake of 1974 film of the same name, this time starring Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John Goodman and Williams, among other amazing cast members. Wahlberg is also one of the producers, probably motivated by the presence of his favorite screenwriter, William Monahan, on the project, along with director Rupert Wyatt.

The movie tells the story of addiction and redemption. Everyone in the story is a gambler in one way or another, using whatever they can as collateral. Wahlberg’s brilliant act is a genius stuck in mediocre world, making him a compulsive gambler. He has just the right mix of aggressiveness, subtlety, suffering, despair and sometimes joy. He’s almost in every scene of the movie and is as impressive when he’s talking or acting without words.

Goodman, as a gangster giving fatherly wisdom, is at his best. Larson manages to steal your heart with few words but true emotions. Finally, there is an excellent performance by Williams, who truly entertains you with his sarcasm, ruthlessness and a swag that only he can carry. He plays a successful businessman who likes to take risks and play, but he is looking for a change of his own, for, of all things, an avocado farm.

***************************************************

THE GAMBLER, debuted on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and VOD April 28, 2015 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

THE GAMBLER Blu-ray Combo Pack with Digital HD features over an hour of compelling bonus content including an extensive look at the film-making process, Mark Wahlberg’s character transformation, deleted and extended scenes, and much more. 

THE GAMBLER Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

The combo pack includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film as well as the following:

Blu-ray

  • Feature film in high definition
  • Mr. Self Destruct: Inside The Gambler
  • Dark Before Dawn: The Descent of The Gambler
  • Changing The Game: Adaptation
  • In The City: Locations
  • Dressing The Players: Costume Design
  • Deleted/Extended Scenes

DVD

  • Feature film in standard definition

The Gambler U.S. Red Band Teaser Trailer (2015) starring Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson, John Goodman. ► Download App (iOs): http://goo.gl/EyzIaF ► Download App (Android): http://goo.gl/AOLpgm ► Click to Subscribe: http://goo.gl/8WxGeD Jim Bennett (Academy Award®-nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker.

The Blu-ray Combo Pack available for purchase includes a Digital Version of the film that can be accessed through UltraViolet™, a way to collect, access and enjoy movies.  With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them—reliably and securely—to a variety of devices.

THE GAMBLER Single-Disc DVD

The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The disc includes the feature film in standard definition.

Website: http://www.TheGamblerMovie.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheGamblerMovie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGamblerMovie

iTunes: http://j.mp/BuyTheGamblerFilm

Amazon: http://j.mp/BuyTheGamblerNow

Boy meets Girl (4/4)

The movie left me in tears by the end. What man likes to admit that, but what the heck, it's true!

So, I was going to watch last episode of Season 4 Game of Thrones, when I got an email form a friend to checkout this movie. It was daytime, so I decided I'll watch this movie and do something "on the side". But did I? I just couldn't stop myself once I started and dedicatedly watched the entire movie.

It's a very good movie about discovering and re-discovering, but never giving up. The movie is very well shot, well edited and very well written & directed. Director & writer Eric Schaeffer has created tight scenes with beautiful dialogues (or lack of it, when not needed) supported by some great performances by all the cast members. Michelle Hendley, Michael Welch, Alexandra Turshen, Michael Galante, Randall Newsome amongst others have given great performances. Michelle is quite mature as an actress in her debut role. Both 'Michaels' have given good depth to quite complex roles, specially Welch.

The movie is not only entertaining with good drama and humor, but also leaves you with a great message. Message of love, faith in yourself, acceptance and perseverance. It's definitely a must watch LGBT movie of the year!

More from the filmmakers:

Look for this title 4/28/15 on DVD and VOD at Wolfe Video: https://www.wolfevideo.com/products/boy-meets-girl/ One of the most popular LGBT films of the year, BOY MEETS GIRL is a funny and heartwarming romantic-comedy starring the very talented actress Michelle Hendley as Ricky, a young transwoman trying to navigate life and looking for romance in her small Kentucky hometown.

Wolfe Video releases  BOY MEETS GIRL 4/7 on VOD and 4/28 on DVD, starring newcomer trans actress Michelle Hendley in a debut role as a young transwoman navigating Southern life and looking for romance - from men and women - in her small Kentucky hometown. Film was written and directed by veteran NYC independent filmmaker Eric Schaeffer (IF LUCY FELL, NEVER AGAIN).

BOY MEETS GIRL is an authentic Southern romantic-comedy starring the newcomer Michelle Hendley as Ricky, a young transwoman trying to navigate life and looking for romance in her small Kentucky hometown. Will she find love with the beautiful rich girl Francesca (Alexandra Turshen, RED OAKS) or with her lifelong best pal Robby (Michael Welch, TWILIGHT franchise)? Authentically written and directed by accomplished indie filmmaker Eric Schaeffer (IF LUCY FELL starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Stiller, Elle Macpherson, NEVER AGAIN starring Jeffrey Tambor and Jill Clayburgh), BOY MEETS GIRL simultaneously exemplifies and transcends the category of "LGBT film" to present the very human story of the blurry and complicated lines between friendship and romance, gender and sexuality.

Said writer-director Eric Schaeffer, "In making this film, I wanted everyone--regardless of gender (cis or trans) or sexual orientation to have a chance to identify with the film's themes of wanting to be unconditionally loved and accepted for who we are. The message in this film is the same as in all my work: labeling leaves no room for who we really are, or how we really experience life. I think our only chance is to bury those labels forever in favor of a singular new one: human. Hate is easy.  The real courage is in love."

BOY MEETS GIRL completed its theatrical run in February 2015 and garnered numerous awards on the film festival circuit, including Best Feature at the Teaneck International Film Festival, the prestigious Iris Prize Festival and the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The film also picked up multiple awards at FilmOut San Diego, sweeping up nearly every jury award for which it was eligible at the 2014 festival - nabbing statues for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Hendley also won the Programming Award for Outstanding Emerging Talent.

RELEASE PLATFORMS: 

AVAILABLE TODAY (April 7) ON iTUNES, GOOGLE PLAY, AMAZON INSTANT, VUDU, WOLFEONDEMAND.COM + ON CABLE VIA TIME-WARNER, COMCAST, CHARTER & COX. DVD WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON, NETFLIX, BESTBUY.COM,BARNESANDNOBLE.COM, FAMILY VIDEO, WOLFEVIDEO.COM, AND MANY OTHER RETAILERS.

FURIOUS 7 (3/4)

Furious 7 - Official Trailer (HD) In Theaters and IMAX April 3, 2015 http://www.furious7.com/ Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Fast & Furious 7.

The 7th installment of the ‘Fast & Furious’ film series works digital wonders: the special effects specialist of ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ Peter Jackson, manages to make the deceased Paul Walker act on screen. ‘Furious 7’ marks the final film appearance of Paul Walker, who died on November 30, 2013 with filming only half-completed. When the tragedy occurred filming was delayed for script re-writes, and his brothers Caleb and Cody Walker were used as stand-ins to complete his remaining scenes and the result is outstanding.

Just recently Oxford Professor Michael Osborne, explained that in the future robots and computers will be able to substitute man for all kinds of tasks. His research was carried out in the US, by examining 702 occupations it turned out that 47% of these will be able to be substituted by artificial intelligence; and while watching the movie we could say actors could definitely be one of these professions.

The film written by Chris Morgan and directed by James Wan, besides Paul Walker, stars Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Lucas Black. The plot’s pivot is Deckard Shaw seeking revenge against Dom Torretto and his family for the death of his brother. This latest Furious chapter marks the departure of Brian O’Conner with great delicacy, by focusing on the hero being torn between thrilling adventure and domestic life, needless to say he’ll pick the latter for reasons beyond his control.

‘Furious 7’ is set for 3D release on April 3, 2015. Despite the Academy is always reluctant to handing out Oscars to action flicks, the miracles that its revolutionary digital effects have produced could change the game.

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!