The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Director: Peter Jackson 

Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens

Cast: Ian Mckellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom

The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s 2^nd instalment of the Hobbit series, takes us back into the ever familiar world of Middle Earth. Chronicling the journey of the dwarves, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) the film portrays our protagonists making their way to the Lonely Mountain to retrieve the Arkenstone from the fiery dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch).

The Sequel:

Slightly shorter than last years’ An Unexpected Journey, this film is a lot more high-octane, foregoing much background story and picking up where the first film left off. We follow our protagonists journeying and making their way past skin-changers, giant spiders and mysterious hallucinogenic forests. 

Those familiar with the source material, may be slightly disappointed with seeming excesses and exaggerations, but they seem very forgivable as director Peter Jackson once again looks to create a spell binding universe and takes a few liberties that come with that. The dwarves march on, taking the help of Bard and eventually reach the Lonely Mountain.

Meanwhile, Gandalf is separated from the party and heads to the evil ruined city of Dol Guldur, where he encounters and is warned of rising evil powers, more of which we will see later (or earlier?). Bilbo and the dwarves eventually come face to face with the Smaug (surely an epitome of the possibilities of CGI) the fire breathing dragon.

The good stuff:

Sri: 

The strong points of the movie are the action sequences and stunning visuals.An intense encounter with elves and orcs at Mirkwood is truly one of the highlights of film, featuring some breath-taking choreography during the fight scenes. Made specifically with 3-D and iMax formats, it proves to be a visual delight, as are all of Jackson’s Middle Earth based films. All the locations are luscious and detailed, providing a vivid imagery and backdrop constantly during the course of the party’s journey. Some of the action sequences featuring Legolas (Orlando Bloom) are scintillating, and the rise of the evil Sauron in Dol Guldur is definitely a highlight.

Arora: 

The most enjoyable part of the film was undoubtedly the tense dialogue between Bilbo and Smaug within the Lonely Mountain, with Bilbo attempting to avoid getting eating by praising “his radiance”, Smaug, in a manner reminiscent of the messenger imp intercepted by Bartimaeus in Johnathan Stroud's “The Amulet of Samarkhand”, .while frantically searching for the Arkenstone in a sea of gold.

RS:

Peter Jackson brought back his characteristic wide tracking shots of the beautiful Middle Earth. Set in New Zealand, (the same place that gave us the stunning planet Pandora in Avatar) the landscape varies from breathtaking green canopies to the cavernous stone walls of Erebor. Not a single moment passes where the camera stays still as it pans, tracks and races through the scenes allowing for a beautiful perspective of each character. The flying and crashing barrels being thrown around everywhere were reminiscent of Gore Verbinski’s work in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. These flamboyant action sequences, while not Peter Jackson’s style, were very welcome although a few of them involved a little unrealistic CGI.

Wheee!

The not so good stuff:

Sri: 

One of the few let-downs of the film was probably the unwanted love triangle between the elves Legolas and Tauriel and the dwarf Kili. It felt out of place and rather forced, not really providing any real purpose or value to the overall narrative.

Arora: 

The most significant shortcoming is the unrivaled winner of retarded character numero uno, Tauriel the elf. Portrayed as a love-stricken, hasty and impulsive warrior, she'd probably fare better in a teenage apocalypse porno than as a daughter of Mirkwood. Of course, our beloved Legolas would disagree, seeking her approval for all the archery skill that they share.

The film was extremely conventional in its approach in comparison to Jackson's original trilogy, giving a lot of focus to action sequences, and less to dialogue and narrative, which is what one would expect from LoTR. Not to say that the adrenaline was a bad thing, but it really compromised the “epic” feel of the film. A lot of unnecessary, contemporary humour did serve to ruin the atmosphere, like the part where the dwarves enter Bard's home through the toilet.

RS: 

The one thing that really put me off even in the first movie was Kili and how he looks NOTHING like a dwarf as if it were an attempt to make a good looking Dwarf-Elf romance between him and Tauriel.

But dad! He's not like the other dwarves!

The cast:

Sri: 

While some people would concede that a beastly, intimidating dragon shouldn’t possess the ability to talk, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug manages to match up to the evil looks and snarls as he once again showcases his abilities as a superlative actor.

Arora: 

Martin Freeman has done a spectacular job in his portrayal of Bilbo Baggins. Although not the prime focus of the film, the ring's influence on him has not been entirely left out. Bilbo can be seen gradually accepting the ring as a means to power, and a solution to tricky situations, using it against spiders in the Mirkwood forest (where he begins to understand their speech which, according to LoTR lore, is a direct effect of using the ring), when escaping from the elves, and when confronting Smaug.

            

RS:  

Thorin was portrayed well by Richard Armitage and exudes the majestic Mountain king vibe. Legolas was again very well portrayed by Orlando Bloom and is probably the only non-pussy character he will ever play. The earlier Dwarf-hating character was very different compared to the Legolas-Gimli Bro-mance in the trilogy. 

Still a better role than Mycroft in Sherlock Holmes 2

The movie makes for a very entertaining roller coaster ride although it seems like it is aimed at a younger audience, compared to the much more mature LoTR trilogy. I think a good 3.5 on 5 does the sequel justice while we eagerly await the final part to come next christmas. 

World War Z: Pitt v/s Zombies

Director: Marc Forster
Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, Damon Lindelof
Story: Matthew Michael Carnahan, J. Michael Straczynski (based on "World War Z" by Max Brooks)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox
Running Time: 116 minutes
Music: Marco Beltrami

World War Z is a whole lotta fun, with a good mix of thrills and action. It's a Brad Pitt driven zombie flick which is essentially on hyper-drive mode throughout most of it's running time. The film endured it's fair share of production hassles, including a couple of script re-writes and addition shoots. It's based on a book of the same name but apparently shares very little other than the name itself (I haven't read the book, so will not comment on it's likeness). World War Z is certainly not without it's flaws, but the positive seems to outweigh the negative, making this a solid entry into the post-apocalyptic as well as zombie film genres.

Z-z-z-zombies !

World War Z is the story of Gerry Lane (Pitt), a retired United Nations employee living with his wife and two kids in Philadelphia, who has to travel the world to try to find out the origin and possible cure for a zombie-like pandemic which has spread across the world. What instantly strikes you about the movie is its pace, wasting no time to dive right into the action. There are some stunning scenes in a traffic laden Philly suburb which kick things off with a bang.

Zombies re-enacting scenes from Holi

The high octane intro results in (conveniently) less time dedicated to background stories or explanations. As a positive consequence, there is no muddled scientific jargon, and leaves the audience with as much information as the movie characters. However, there is also hardly any character depth or development, and you would be forgiven if you didn't really care about them much. However, Forster smartly sidesteps these complications with the break-neck and gripping speed of the film.

Now this is a PG-13 film. Yes, a PG-13 Zombie horror film. Which means there is hardly any blood/gore in World War Z. This was obviously done with a view to make up the hefty $190 million budget, but it tends to diminish the overall zombie effect. While it is admirable that the movie did provide it's fair share of thrills and chills without too much blood and gore, it wouldn't have been out of place.

I can haz blood?

You can generally go two ways with zombies, either they are the slow walking, dumbasses, or the fast-moving killing machines and Forster successfully chooses the later. The zombies are pretty damn scary and relentless. They know they are already dead, and put their bodies on the line to get that next bite. Most of the movie's strongest scenes involve them and that is a big positive in World War Z. 

The acting (Brad Pitt) is pretty top notch. I've been a pretty big Brad Pitt fan, and he tends to diversify his roles and never really fails to deliver (even if the film sometime does); and this trend continues. Pitt as Gerry Lane delivers an assured performance, whether it is as a consoling father, or in a Mission Impossible-esque stealth mode. The rest of the cast have relatively smaller roles and feature unknown faces. Daniella Kertesz does a solid job as a Israeli soldier Segen.

Yep, its cool for guys to say he's hot and not have their sexuality questioned

The film cannot help itself on occasion and falls into the action movie cliche category, with the "one-man-against-the-world" feel. Situations conveniently arise and sufficient lucky breaks help our hero in his quest. Ironically, in one scene, a researcher reminds Lane he's not the only one with a family in this ongoing tragedy, but the film tends to treat him like he is. The ending is pretty smart, but feels a bit underwhelming as opposed to the beginning. (with lots of indications of possible sequel)

Thats right, they climbed an inverted truck and hijacked a chopper

Overall, World War Z is an enjoyable watch. It packs enough punch for an action flick, and has enough spooks for a thriller. While it does seem light on the drama, the sci-fi aspect or the "believability" of the story line, the film embraces its limitations and does well on the back of a solid Brad Pitt.

4/5

Cool Quotes:

1. Gerry Lane: If you can fight, fight. Be prepared for anything. Our war has just begun.
2. Andrew Fassbach: Mother Nature is a serial killer. She wants to get caught, she leaves bread crumbs, she leaves clues... Mother nature knows how to disguise her weakness as strength.

Man Of Steel: Certainly Not Stainless

Director: Zack Snyder

Screenplay: David S. Goyer

Story: David S. Goyer & Christopher Nolan

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Laurence Fishburne

Running Time: 143 Minutes

Music: Hans Zimmer

Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" is your quintessential big budget Summer superhero block buster film. That is not necessarily a bad thing, "The Avengers" showed us that. But where "The Avengers" managed to succeed, by overcoming the typical block buster excesses and cliches, "Man Of Steel" cannot. Sure, the movie has its moments, but they only prove to be a glimpse of 'what could have been' as it plods on during its 143 minute run-time.

First in line of a new reboot series, (which is to include a sequel and a Justice League film) "Man Of Steel" is essentially an origin story, which most may already be familiar with. The film opens in a desolate planet Krypton with Jor-El (Crowe), Krypton's leading scientist, and General Zod (Shannon), Krypton's military commander, at logger-heads about the fate of the doomed planet and the future of their race. Jor-El and wife Lara send their new born son, the planet's first natural birth in ages, Kal-El off to planet Earth, not before imprinting a genetic codex into his cells. Zod is furious, murders Jor-El and vows to hunt Kal-El, as he is banished to the Phantom Zone for his attempted coup before the planet explodes. 

The film then shows how Clark Kent is raised in Smallville, Kansas and learns of his superpowers and alien origins from his adopted parents, Jonathan and Martha (Costner and Lane); how as an adult Kent's (Cavill) paths with reporter Lois Lane (Adams) cross; his ultimate aim and reason for existence from his hologram-ised birth father; and his ultimate showdown with General Zod & Buddies on Earth.

Shit just got serious in Krypton

The first half is certainly the strongest, as the film alternates between timelines. We see a young Clark Kent, struggling to come to terms with his superhuman abilities with the help of parents; and an adult Kent, constantly avoiding drawing attention to his superhuman abilities in a nomadic existence. The influence of Christopher Nolan is particularly apparent here, the movie has a somber tone and a dark mood. This makes for some of the movie's best scenes, like how Kent uses restraint and deals with an ass-hole customer at the bar he works in; or a young Kent averting disaster after his school bus topples over.

School bus? No Biggie....

The film, however, quickly begins to move into over-the-top and cheesy territory. From long, drawn out, introspective and sentimental conversations between Clarke and Jonathon, to loud explosions and chaos, "Man Of Steel" begins to lose all the initial sheen. There's some random sci-fi mumbo-jumbo thrown in that doesn't really make sense and a constant theme of "Is the world ready for Superman?" present for good measure. 

"Yep. I've nailed that goatee"

The film's lack of humour is very apparent, especially considering how light-hearted the Christopher Reeve era Superman films were. While the filmmakers obviously look to portray a more realistic superhero for a newer audience (the original released in 1978), the essence of Superman has always been that of a fun, happy superhero. Having said that, the filmmakers cannot portray an edgy or dark Superman either. Unlike Batman, a more realistic superhero with a 'darker' side, Superman has always been straight-up, clean guy and Snyder struggles to find the balance.

Lets cover that body up with a Superman costume...

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag. Little known Henry Cavill is physically impressive, although a bit underwhelming in his delivery, while pretty Amy Adams does a fair job at best of playing reporter Lois Lane. The best actors are probably Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, who do a great job as Clark's adopted parents, and ever-dependable Russel Crowe as Jor-El. Michael Shannon as General Zod spews out his bad-guy dialogues with venom; but the most miscast role has to be the Daily Planet boss Perry White, played by Laurence Fishburne, producing a number of inadvertent lulz.

"I knew I should've taken the blue pill..."

True to form, the action sequences are pretty stunning (ensure you get to a good 3-D theater) and the high-budget is apparent. From planet Krypton (not unlike the 'real world' from "The Matrix") to Antarctica, the cinematography is pretty cool, too! The explosions and fight sequences look impressive, but are pretty overdone and chaotic at times.

A special word on Hans Zimmer's brilliant soundtrack (which you can illegally procure here). The veteran composer doesn't fail to deliver with a rich soundscape, and in a completely different feel to the original, iconic "Superman March" theme by John Williams.

"Man Of Steel" is certainly nowhere to being a great film. It keeps reverting to block buster cliches and mediocrity, and it's long running time doesn't help. However, there are some really good moments and visual delights to make it a fun theater watch (wallet withstanding of course).

2.5/5

Cool Quotes:

1. Jonathan Kent: You have to keep this side of yourself a secret.
   Clark Kent at 13: What was I supposed to do? Let them die?
   [brief pause]
   Jonathan Kent: Maybe...
   
   
2. Lois Lane: What's the S stand for?
   
   
3. Jor-El: Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you.
   Lara Lor-Van: He will be an outcast. They'll kill him.
   Jor-El: How? He'll be a god to them.