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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Too stereotypical to be liked!
Face it I have never read Tom Clancy and this is a review from a non-US viewer which although means that I do not really care much about the American patriotism but at the same time it doesn't mean that I have any problem with its full throttle display.
However, one has to be honest you see this is not the Cold War era anymore and even if the recent invasion of Crimea by Russia is imagined to have brought back the animosity of that era then it is certainly overrated!
That said, Shadow Recruit is laden with stereotypes where characters are carved out as simply black and white i.e. where the bad guys (Russians in this case) are intense but dumb, patriotic but also perverted. As for the good guys, they are intelligent beyond comprehension...so much so that their superiors seem dumb-founded in their presence. Give and take these were the same clichés which led to the widespread panning of movies like Die Hard 5 and Red Dawn ...and in that regard Shadow Recruit should be treated no differently.
Its truly a shame really that with such a talented cast and a reputable director in Kenneth Branagh (whom I had become a fan of when I saw 'Thor'), the movie is predictable from the word go and has certainly no thrill!
And although a comparison with 'The Hunt for the Red October' might seem unfair since it stars a more aged Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), but despite the pressures of Cold War back then John McTiernan made it into a splendid movie which was miles ahead of its time!
Lastly I have to spare Chris Pine in my thumbs down for this movie; who certainly seems the most genuine and has a very likable screen presence much similar to that of a young Tom Cruise.
Despite execution and overall pace of the movie being fine, the net experience is disappointing! ...6/10
True Detective (2014)
True Detective season 1 is a novel masterpiece!
Despite its atheist, nihilistic undertones and a dark brooding atmosphere, True Detective is as intriguing as it gets!
Although one of the two main protagonists is your average cop (Woody Harrelson) but the other one (Matthew McCounaghy) is way too complex, nihilistic and disturbing to be efficiently developed, yet Nic Pizzolatto the show's creator does a phenomenal job in developing his character without getting too philosophical.
The same is the case with pretty much every character, Pizzolatto is far from shy to keep them gray and that said they appear splendidly real.
Although the plot is yet another serial killer hunt but it is dense than anything you have ever seen, in fact the depth is so spell-binding that the series makes successful serial killer efforts on the big screen i.e. Se7en etc. look mediocre! and in that regard a big part of the credit goes to the series director Cary Fukunga who has directed all the eight episodes from the first season.
However, despite the Fukunga and Pizzolatto partnership being the show's bedrock it is McCounaghy who is the true star of the first season. Although it is arguable that he got the best role as well but McCounaghy gives a career best here; even better than his Oscar winning performance in Dallas Buyers Club!
Nonetheless, True Detective's first season is a game-changer in every word with popular movie stars like Emma Stone already showing an interest to work in the second season. Television is certainly on its way to outperform the Box Office if not financially then critically with TD set to lead it from the front!
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Main Hoon Shahid Afridi (2013)
"Main Hoon Shahid Afridi" is a true Pakistani movie!
Cricket is more than a sport in Pakistan; its a way of life. The passion among the average folk is such that whenever their is a crunch encounter at hand involving the national team; the masses do give it a thought to take that odd day off!
That said, MHSA fits the bill as a genuinely entertaining cricket movie for the local audiences.
The movie embodies every cricket, religious and cultural (particularly that of Sialkot, which is famous for exporting sports goods worldwide) cliché which we love with complete heart and that is where the movie wins it for me. I usually hate melodrama and clichés but it is the deft handling of débutant director Syed Ali Raza Usama which makes all of that likable.
While largely concentrating on the nation's beloved sport it is admirable in my opinion that the makers strive to bring harmony to minorities and class disputes along the way. And for that I have a lot of praise for Vasay Chaudhry's screenplay which despite taking heavy influences from Chak De and Lagaan feels strikingly original!
However, the movie does have its share of few misgivings i.e. the songs (Mathira's item number in particular
ugh!) and Mahnoor Balouch. Both Mahnoor and the songs bring nothing but distaste to the average viewer's experience and although I understand the intention to place them was to win international audiences in some way! (baffling?..I know!) but they are a total misfire!
Lastly coming to performances, both Humayun Saeed and Noman Habib deliver earnest performances but it is Hamza Ali Abbasi who truly shines in a rather small role; which brings us to a promising realization that our local television actors can equally lighten up the silver screen as well.
MHSA is mostly correct in all of its projections of Pakistan and its beloved sport and that said it is a real Pakistani movie; one which the local fan should be proud of!
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The Wolverine (2013)
Good entertainment!
I went into the movie banking on my prior liking for James Mangold's work (Knight & Day, Copland)and the Japanese setting. After watching the movie I was pretty pleased with the effort put in! i.e.the story besides some late twist was kinda old school but neatly handled. Furthermore, dialogs were good (much better than the first part!), acting kind-of ranged from fair to good, character development was fine and action sequences were also quite nicely done!
That said there were hardly any moments where I got distracted and that is some feat since the movie features a runtime of more than 2 hours.
It seems to be getting clearer with time why so many Wolverine fans had a fallout with this movie. Prior to its release the film was said to be based on the respected Wolverine comic to date, maybe those who read it found the movie to be seriously falling short of it; I never read it so I couldn't spot the differences i.e. if there were some. Secondly, almost all of the talk between Japanese characters (which amounts to more than 90%) in the movie is in Japanese which I believe is the right thing to do but may be this turned out to be a turn off!
Nonetheless, The Wolverine is much better than its predecessor and with reviews being heavily polarized on this one, the viewer better check it out. This is much better than the awful Ironman 3 and numerous other garbage movies rocking the B.O!
Aashiqui 2 (2013)
More an alcoholic's character study, less on romance!
Ever since Awaarapan I haven't seen any movies of Mohit Suri which have went from a reportedly mediocre Raaz 2 to plain bad Murder 2 and with that I began to feel that he had somewhere lost his edge which was telling a story in an engaging, gripping manner.
However, after watching Aashiqui 2 I can certainly say that he has covered considerable lost ground. The movie's key strength is its music and I personally feel that its makers were quite wise in building a story around singing.
Although both the script and acting show great volatility from being mediocre at times to really good at some instances but based on the fact that the lead actors are first timers in lead roles therefore the gamble to cash on fresh appeal of first timers mostly works amid few performance glitches!
Those glitches mostly come from the leading lady whereas; Aditya Roy mostly rises above the script despite minor flaws of his own. His performance is of such significance in the movie that it makes one feel that Aashiqui 2 is more of an alcoholic's character study (and a damn good one that!) with strong bursts of romance.
WATCH OUT FOR: Good story, songs and Aditya Roy Kapoor
CONCLUSION: Nothing groundbreaking neither it tries to be but a good watch preferably with your plus one! ... 7/10
Force (2011)
Nothing you haven't seen before but watch it for its menacing villain!
Nishikant Kamant's directorial debut "Mumbai Meri Jaan" was quite a good movie and with that nothing short of a masterpiece was expected from him in his next outing.
Although this movie is no more than your standard fare and is in fact a remake of the tamil movie "Kaakha Kaahkha" but action is always a difficult genre to deal with, which in current circumstances has been made additionally difficult with the success of awful movies like Singham and Dabbang 2... so in that context this is much better.
The movie mostly suffers from a predictable storyline, an annoying Genelia D'Souza (wonder why they didn't simply call her Genelia in the movie since she is totally herself and not so charming at that!) and weak execution at times.
However, had it been (thankfully not) the likes of Rohit Shetty, Anil Sharma or the lot handling direction this movie would had been another crazy airborne action mess..but Kamant shows commendable courage in giving its strong villain in newcomer Vidyut Jamwal ample screen time ...sometimes at the cost of its main protagonist John Abraham who at his end does an OK job (I never expect great acting from John anyway!)largely helped by a beefed up physique!
WATCH OUT FOR: Vidyut Jamwal
Conclusion: Watch this movie to enjoy action as its should be i.e. intense and violent!....6.7/10!
Arrow (2012)
Engaging despite the flaws!
Being a lesser known character in the DC universe, the show's creators have been wise in using the TV format to successfully sell Green Arrow, since it allows them to use the detail in comics to a greater extent.
Despite the fact that I watched the first season with great zeal I have to admit that its severely flawed ...i.e. from wooden acting generally to weak dialogues to recurring plot holes there is a lot to be worthy of criticism.
However, contrary to the above Arrow does provide some great entertainment with particular mention of its stunts and a number of interesting characters. I personally found Jessica DeGouw as The Huntress to be the best thing about the first season, she depicts the dark edgy character of hers quite wonderfully followed by Manu Benett (as Slade Wilson) and Sebastian Dunn (as Edward Fyers).
WATCH OUT FOR: Great action sequences, good story buildup, episodes starring The Huntress
Conclusion: Highly recommended if you like vigilantes, not so much if you don't....7/10!