Timeline (2003)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Thrillers

Cast: Gerard Butler, Paul Walker

My Rating: 4/5

Director: Richard Donner

As a big fan of time travel movies, i decided to give this a try since it was also directed by Richard Donner. Gerard Butler of "300" fame, then an unknown actor and Paul Walker of "Fast & Furious" series star in this.

Though there are some logic defying plots in this movie (since time travel is not a possibility yet, you shouldn't care for any logic for that matter), the movie does make it for an interesting viewing by making it story setting around the "Hundred Years" war between Britain and France.

An archaeologist goes missing but soon his son and his students find his lens- a modern day equipment with a letter in a old excavation site of the Hundred Years war between Britain and France asking for help. Shocked, they go to the funding company to, of course, learn about the time travel. They then go back to France in 1300's to bring back the archaeologist. The rest of the movie is about how they manage to survive the war in 1300's and all the while changing the course of history.

21 Jump Street (2012)

Genre: Action, Comedies

Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube

My Rating: 4/5

The second best R-rated comedy of 2012 so far after Ted. This movie  is based on the 1980's TV series of the same name that launched Johnny Depp's career.

High school classmates Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum join the police force after graduation but are assigned  park patrol duty in bicycles. After messing up on a drug arrest in the park (they forget to read the rights correctly), they are asked to go to "21 Jump Street" for their new assignment. They go to an abandoned church which has a "Korean Jesus" (a Korean looking Jesus statue). Ice Cube plays the priest who assigns them a narc mission in a high school for according to him, both Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are "Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus looking mother*******".

The whole plot of the movie is about how both the lead characters infiltrate the high school posing as teenagers and bust the drug dealers and suppliers. The movie is hilarious with fresh plots and is definitely worth a watch.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Genre: Action, Comedies, Adventure, Car Chase

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field

My Rating: 4/5

Classic 70's muscle cars in action. Highway patrolmen and the protagonist (Burt Reynolds) on a high speed chase across five southern states of USA. It cannot get better than this.

This movie is a lighthearted comedy with high octane car chases. It is about two guys accepting a bet to move banned alcohol alcohol from Texas to Georgia in a truck in a short period of time. Burt Reynolds drives his car to act as a diversion to the cops from getting to the truck. On the way from Texas, he offers a lift to a runaway bride who was supposed to marry a Sheriff's son. The rest of the movie is about the comic high speed chase involving the Bandit and the Sheriff and the various state patrolmen.

It looks like public do not halt for a cop's car with a siren turned on those days. Burt Reynolds gets all the help he can from the public by making them block the cop's cars or delay them by communicating through his transmitter.You also get to see the America of the 70's with the entire movie having been shot on the freeway, local highways and the diners.

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

Genre: Comedies

Cast: John Belushi, Donald Sutherland

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

MPAA Rating: R- Restricted

The movie that started it all. It is the grand-daddy of films like American Pie, Road Trip and other National Lampoon labeled movies. Though this movie was made in the 70's it would still pass today for his crude humor.

John Belushi is one of my favorite actors of all time though he acted in a handful of movies(He died at a very young age.)  Though he only comes a side character in this movie, watch out for all his expressions and mannerisms.

This movie is about a fraternity house in a college that is on a "double secret probation" (it was already on probation, so the dean not knowing what to do with them uses this term) due to misconduct and poor test scores. It shows all the activities that takes place at the fraternity- their parrties, food fights, pranks, paper chase and how they retaliate on the verge of suspension.

Paycheck (2003)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Thrillers

Cast: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Director: John Woo

Director John Woo has tried a sci-fi movie with his regular action material and it doesn't disappoint. You may find some of the scenes in this movie to be unbelievable and unrealistic, but once you stop thinking logic, you would find this movie interesting.

Ben Affleck plays a reverse engineer, who makes a deal  with Aaron Eckhart, a friend of his for a job in return for huge shares in his company. But the project would take three years and the whole three years of his life would be erased from his memory as part of his job. When he starts work, he meets Uma Thurman and they fall in love.

After the project is completed, he doesn't remember anything and finds that he has not received any money in his account. To his horror, he finds out that he has voluntarily forfeited the shares. And he also receives a package containing items used in everyday life such as glasses, cigarettes which were not his but were sent by him. And to top this, he is also pursued by FBI for the murder of a physicist. He slowly finds that the trivial items in his possession holds the key to saving his life from danger and about what exactly he did during his three years that he can't remember.

Mr. Brooks (2007)

Genre: Thrillers, Serial Killers

Cast: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, William Hurt

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mr. Brooks is a wealthy man. Mr. Brooks is a famous businessman. But, he has a terrible secret. He is the "Thumbprint Killer", a serial killer who has been trying to control himself from killing for two years.

Kevin Costner plays Mr. Brooks who has an alter ego, played by William Hurt that drives his desire to kill . I loved the way Brooks interacts with his alter ego, as if they are two partners in crime. Demi Moore plays the cop who investigates the serial murders.

Brooks finally gives in and kills a couple. As always, he leaves their thumbprint on the lamp shade. His alter ego then notices that their curtains were open.
Unfortunately, one of the neighbors, Smith,  takes photographs of his killings.  But, all Smith wants in return for not turning him to the police is to take him along for his next killing. Whoa. Two serial killers in a movie? But wait, there is more coming.

Brooks' daughter quits college telling her parents that she has become pregnant. But, when police visit their home to question her about a murder that took place at her college, Brooks realises that her daughter too has it in her.  I would like to stop right here for you to find out what happens next.

The Grey (2012)

Genre: Action, Thrillers

Cast: Liam Neeson

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I think this movie is good in its own way. I made the mistake of expecting it to be another "Taken" or "Bourne" type of movie with unbelievable action scenesand was disappointed and hated it initially. Do not make my mistake and let it go at its pace. This movie is realistic and has a serious tone.

It is about a group of men fighting it out with wolves in a severe Alaskan winter. The first thing that would go in one's mind is "Which era are we in?  Are wolves a threat to humans?" This movie takes you back to the stone age for the group do not have any modern day weapons. You get to experience how harsh life was during those times where humans had (were/are ) a threat everywhere (though not as big a threat as humans against each other).

I couldn't help but wonder if the director got the idea about this movie from "Twilight" series where the wolves claim that the vampires are not allowed in their territory. In this case, the humans are not. This movie also borders on the slasher genre on how the wolves kill them one by one but the comparison ends just there.

Liam Neeson plays a security guard in Alaska for an oil drilling team. He grieves over his wife's death(his real-life wife died in 2009) and tries to commit suicide while on mission but the gun wouldn't fire. After the drilling, the team boards the plane only to crash in a severe storm. The rest of the movie is about whether the survivors realising that they are in the gray wolves' territory get out of it safely.

Insidious (2011)

Genre: Horror, Supernatural Horror

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No Blood. No Gore. Rated PG-13. Yet Scary. This is one of the best horror movies i have seen recently apart from the "Paranormal Activity" series. It has a fresh plotline and good jumpy scenes.

I stopped watching horror movies for a while after almost all the movies have a plot about either a haunted house or a demon possession. So, when i saw the trailer of this movie about a haunted house, i promptly decided to skip it. But, when it became one of the surprise hits of 2011, I decide to give it a try. I have recommended this movie to almost all my friends now.

I do not want to spoil the suspense by telling the story. But in short, it's about a boy who falls into a coma and the family decides to know if he was really in come or being possessed.

Seeking Justice (2011)

Genre: Thrillers, Revenge

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Guy Pearce

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Finally, Nicolas Cage has acted in a good movie. But this movie only got a limited release in US and then faded away mainly in part for poor marketing by a small production company. But, it's definitely worth a watch.

The whole movie is set in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the unique cities you would come across in America. Nicolas Cage plays an English teacher whose wife gets raped and beaten by a rapist. While at the hospital, he is approached by a mysterious man who says he is part of an organization that takes care of bad guys and  makes a deal with him that he would take care of the rapist in return for a small favor that he may ask in the future. Cage, agrees to the deal and soon after receives an envelope with a photo of the murdererd rapist.

Everything goes well for some time and then suddenly he is approached by the same guy that he made a deal with and is asked to kill another person who is yet another scumbag. Cage's life soon gets into a mess and he is chased by both the police for murder and by the organization to protect themselves. The rest of the movie is about how he manages to prove himself innocent.

Underworld (2003)

Genre: Action, Horror, Vampire, Werewolf

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a serious vampires vs werewolves at war film unlike the "Twilight" vampire vs werewolf one. You get to see lots of violence (it's rated R) that includes shootings, beheadings and stabbing.

The movie is about centuries long feud between vampires and werewolves. The vampires have the upperhand in the present believing they have already killed the werewolf leader and try to kill the remaining werewolves. However, the werewolves engage secretly in finding a perfect weapon to kill the vampires. They also try to test the blood of the descendants of the "Corvinus" bloodline to find the pure source from where both the vampires and werewolves descended. They eventually find that Michael Corvin, an ordinary human being is the true descendant and bite him before being ambushed by Vampire Selene. He then later gets bitten by Selene and transforms into a hybrid. It just can't get better..

The movie is full of stylish fight scenes and has lots of action sequences between the vampires and the werewolves. The best thing about this movie is that it also has a nice and interesting storyline that makes it different from the movies of the same genre.

Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007)

Genre: Action, Thrillers, Serial Killers

Cast: Kurt Russell

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Director: Quentin Tarantino

A typical Tarantino movie. The movie starts very slowly with plenty of dialogues that i felt like switching off( i in fact dozed off). But as most of Tarantino's movies go, it picks up pace later on.

Kurt Russell stars as a stuntman whose car is designed to protect the driver from any accidents. He is also a serial killer who drives his "Deathproof" car directly at women's car and kills them instantly.

The story really begins when a group of women take a car for a ride. One of them plays a game where she ties her belts to the two sides of the car and holds it by lying on the hood and asks her friend to drive at high speeds.I was totally amazed at how well the woman(who is a stunt person in real life) on the hood performed those scenes. Our killer follows them behind and tries to kill them with the woman on the hood getting thrown away. Here, I was thinking its going to be another movie where the women would somehow get lucky and manage to kill the killer. Instead, to my surprise, the women get angry at him and decide to go after him having already shot him in the arm. Now, the killer is on the run chased by angry chicks who finally catch up with him.

Fallen (1998)

Genre: Mystery, Supernatural Thrillers, Serial Killers

Cast: Denzel Washington, John Goodman

My Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

A very good thriller that has a mix of a serial killer plot, police investigation and demons.

Denzel Washington plays a detective who captures a serial killer. After his execution, the murders however keep showing up raising doubts of a copycat killer. But to his horror, he discovers that the serial killer that he captured was possessed by a demon which escapes from his body during his execution.

I have watched the movie atleast three times and would still love to watch this whenever i feel bored. If you love serial killer plot and police investigation, you wouldn't want to miss this.

Dude, Where's my Car? (2000)

Genre: Comedies

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Sean William Scott

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

To think about this movie now, its similar to "The Hangover", where the main characters forget what happened the previous night and try to retrace their steps. This movie is out and out stupid that you might enjoy it or hate it looking at the sheer stupidity.(Honestly, i hated it the first time but started liking it when i watched it the second time on cable). So, do not think about any logic and give it a chance.

Both Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott(Steve Stifler in the American Pie Series) play two slackers who wake up with a hangover and no memory of what happened the previous night and their car. The movie is about the series of encounters they have with different races of aliens, one of hot women that try to destroy the universe and the other of good alien men trying to protect the same, a chinese woman where they order their carryout(i laughed out  loud during this scene), a group of UFO believers and an ostrich. It all comes down to how the two main characters save the universe using the transponder device given to them by the good aliens the previous night and find their car.

Kick-Ass (2010)

Genre: Action, Action Comedies, Superhero Films

Cast: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz- Plasse

My Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

If you thought "Batman" is a realistic superhero who doesn't fly or spin a web or possess any supernatural powers except for gadgets, watch "Kick-Ass".

The hero is a regular teenager who gets inspired by the comic books and sets out to become a superhero by just wearing a masked bodysuit without any superpowers or skills. But of course, he learns it the hard way that it is not easy to become a superhero by getting beat up. But, he doesn't give up and goes on with it. He later comes to know that he is not alone and that there are others like "Big Daddy" (Nicolas Cage) and "Hit-Girl" who don the superhero suits and use cool gadgets to fight crime. He soon becomes a target of a mob boss for having intervened in his business.

This movie is also funny except for its portrayal of violence and gunfights. It is R-rated becasue of this compared to the other superhero movies which are mostly PG-13.

The Fugitive (1993)

 

Genre: Thrillers

Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones

My Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

The movie's plot is like any other movie where a man is accused of a murder and goes on a run and proves he is innocent. But what makes this movie interesting is the acting and the screenplay.

Harrison Ford, a heart surgeon is accused of killing his wife and manages to escape while being transferred to a prison. He is being chased by Tommy Lee Jones who plays a U.S. Marshall. The rest is about how Mr. Ford finds the killer while avoiding the cops. The movie runs at a fast pace from the start till the end and keeps you engaged all the time.

The Good, the bad and the Ugly (1966)

Genre: Action, Western

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The movie that made Clint Eastwood a Star and popularized the spaghetti western genre. This movie is the third movie of the "Dollars Trilogy" but you need not watch the first two to see this one. Clint Eastwood plays "The Good" aka "Blondie"as a man with no name. Eli Wallach steals the entire show as "The Ugly" Tuco with his comical talent. I would say that if not for Eli Wallach, the film would have been a bore given its running time of almost 3 hours.

The film is about three gunmen in search of buried confederate gold. Tuco(The Ugly) tries to kill Blondie(The Good) before he stops to loot a carriage from where he learns he name of the cemetery about the hidden gold from a dying man. Before he could fetch water, the man dies revealing the name of the grave to Blondie. This forces Tuco to form a reluctant partnership with Blondie to go after the gold. Meanwhile, "The Ugly" who is a hitman who kills for money is also after the gold and the movie enters the climax with the three on a "Mexican Standoff" with their guns pointing at each other.

The movie is famous for its music for the introduction of "The Ugly" and also in its depiction of violence.

I would recommend that you have enough patience and time to watch this gem of a movie.

The Lincoln Lawyer(2011)

 Genre: Thrillers

 Cast: Matthew Mcconughey, Marisa Tomei

 Likeability- Fresh Plot, Good Twist

 My Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

Looking at the title at first, i was thinking that it would be involving the president Abraham Lincoln, but found out that it was named because the main character goes around in his "Lincoln" Town car. That did make me lose my interest in the movie initially for i was expecting 1800s settings, and later on when i realized he is just a corrupt lawyer who defends gangsters and drug dealers i almost gave up. But give it a few more minutes, the movie really kicks off when he takes on a case of a wealthy guy who was accused of attempted murder by a prostitute. It takes a twist when one of his clients facing death sentence in prison may not be guilty and both the cases may have something in common. I will leave you here to figure out the rest.

The main reason why i liked this movie was that it had a fresh plot and had a bit of serial killer and coutroom drama situation which made me sit through the entire movie.

I would recommend this movie when you feel bored but have enough patience to watch a serious movie.