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.

Duel (1971)

Genre: Action, Thrillers, Car Racing

My Rating: 5/5

Director: Steven Spielberg

Steven's Spielberg first directorial venture. This made for TV movie later had a limited release and helped launch his career. In fact, I like this one better than "Jaws" which made him famous.

This movie is a highway chase thriller where the protagonist is chased by a truck.Though it's a one liner story, it's the genius of Spielberg that makes this movie interesting till the end even though you don't get to see the face of the driver. I could still watch this though it was made in early 70s.

You might find the first few minutes boring where we get to know about the hero but once he passes the old truck on the highway, the movie really kicks off.

Fight Club (1999)

Genre: Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers

Cast: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter

Rating: 5/5

You can only have two feelings towards this movie. You would either hate it or love it. But, I hated this movie almost the entire time but as the end credits started rolling, i stopped it and started watching it from the begining once again - out of disbelief of what i just saw ( and failed to notice) and realising how i started liking it all of a sudden.

My idea of movie watching is simple. A hero should be a hero. I cannot like a movie if the hero starts beating around innocent folks and vandalising the streets as he does in this movie. But then, this movie is an exception.

Shutter Island (2010)

Genre: Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Mystery

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max Von Sydow

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Director: Martin Scorsese

A true masterpiece from director Martin Scorsese. We finally get to see a Hitchcock type of movie in the 21st century.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays an investigator sent to a hospital in "Shutter Island" for criminals who are insane. Mark Ruffalo enlists as his partner in finding the disapperance of a female patient from the hospital. Soon, Dicaprio finds that the hospital has his own web of mysteries. Ben Kingsley plays the lead pyschiatrist who is reluctant to help with the investigation and cuts them access to certain parts of the hospital. There is also another doctor who might have been involved with the Nazis during the world war which makes him think if they are doing any experiments on the patients in the totally secured island knowing that they are just criminally insane that no one would for them. He soon finds himself driven crazy by the events unfolding at the hospital and the rest is about whether he accomplishes his mission or not.

Dicaprio definitely needs to consider playing different roles. In most of the recent movies like "Body Of Lies", "Blood Diamond", "The Departed" and even in "Inception", he plays serious roles in which he looks sleep deprived. I hope he realizes it and looks for different roles.

Unbreakable (2000)

Genre: Thrillers, Superhero Films

Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A brilliant original superhero origin movie from director M. Night Shyamalan during his prime years.  This movie was released right after "The Sixth Sense" became a monster hit. I liked this movie better than the other one though. It's a shame that this one didn't make as much in profits as the previous one due to poor marketing efforts.

It's about a superhero who doesn't know he is one. Bruce Willis plays the unbreakable guy- he cannot be hurt by anything. He survives during a train crash that kills every other passengers, but he thinks that he was just lucky to have survived till he meets Samuel Jackson who has a condition totally opposite- his bones are too fragile that it breaks often.

What I liked- The original plot and the acting of both the main characters. It had all the suspense initially and is believable.

Dislikes - As any other Shyamalan movie, this movie was slow but it had of course enough suspense and build up that i could sit through it.

The Oxford Murders (2008)

Genre: Thrillers, Serial Killers, Mystery

Cast: John Hurt, Elijah Wood

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you are into movies about murder mystery, then this one is for you. It is about an Oxford Professor and a student trying to solve a string of murders. Though this movie has interesting plots that would keep you guessing till the end about the murderer, i have to warn you that they have too many "intelligent" conversations between the professor and the student. I guess that because it is "Oxford" they had to have those.

After every murder, there would be some deliberate clues left behind by the killer. The professor deduces that the killer commits his crime in a way that someone else would get caught for those murders thereby making it a perfect crime.

You can do all the thinking and reasoning you want while watching this movie or you can just sit back and let the story unfold. Either way you won't be disappointed. But as i mentioned before, the dialogues sometimes seem very unrealistic.

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.

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.

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.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thrillers

Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A Sci-fi thriller with a love story. I watched this movie without any expectations and was pleasantly surprised with its fresh plot. Matt Damon stars as a politician who just lost in his campaign. While rehearsing for his speech, he meets Emily Blunt and instantly falls in love with her and gives an inspired speech that makes him a favorable candidate for the next elections.

A month passes by and when Matt Damon is about to walk out of his apartment, a guy is told by his boss to make sure that Damon spills his coffee at a particular time. However, he doses off and Damon meets Emily and gets her phone number. He is later apprehended and told by men in suits that they are from "Adjustment Bureau" who make sure that everything goes by "plan" and that Damon meeting Emily is not in plan. He is also told that he cannot talk about the Bureau or he would be "reset".

The rest of the story is about if Damon is able to meet Emily again and re-unite with her against the bureau's plan. The movie could have been even more interesting had they explained about the "Bureau" in detail. All we know is that they can use the regular doors in buildings to move quickly to different locations and that human beings were initially allowed to choose their own path, but after the world wars, the bureau decides their fate with a plan.

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 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.