Moon : by Duncan Jones

Duncan Jones , a first time Hollywood director came into limelight in 2009 with this feature "Moon".

Starring , Sam Rockwell , who plays an employee of a firm which sends people to the moon on a mission to extract  helium 3 for augmenting Earth's power base.

This sci-fi celluloid drama has two characters , Sam Bell , the employee on the 3 year stint and GERTY , his robot ally (voice over Kevin Spacey).

Lunar Industries has contracted Sam for a job to monitor the Helium 3 extractors on the Moon.

He is two weeks away from the end of the contract and the d-day of his return to Earth, to his wife and daughter.

As the film explores Sam's Lunar day to day proceedings , it takes a turn when he meets with an accident whilst travelling to retrieve H3 from the harvester.

GERTY rescues Sam but to his surprise he is not aware of any accident that happened.

Sam starts getting suspicious of the odd occurrences at the base and the next instance the audience gets a jolt from nowhere ! Boom !

This film marks the unearthing of the talent of Sam Rockwell as a leading man in Hollywood films who has always been a sidekick.

Moon is a gutsy effort by the British talent , underlying his prowess of screenplay and direction of a sci-fiction subject.

A hard hitting space fiction drama! Like!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Avatar : by James Cameron

Avatar marks the return of my all-time favourite filmmaker : 'James Cameron' . 

I have simply relished "Cameron Cinema" be it..

T1 , Abyss , True Lies , Titanic , Aliens , & T2 Judgement Day.

Avatar has raised the bar , and makes me wonder what more can this man offer!

The film is set in 2154 , where humans are in the hunt for precious mining material on Pandora , an expansive lush green moon!

With the expansion of the mining colonies it threatens the existence of the local tribe of Na'vi.

The humans develop genetic hybrids of the Na'vi to interact with the Pandora species and take them into confidence.

What makes this movie , 'Extraordinary' , is the research and technology gone into the filmmaking process.

Reasons for it to be a 'Once in a lifetime experience' :

1. The Screenplay 

2. The Creation of a fictional universe 'Pandora' 

3. The Native Na'Vi Language

4. The RealD 3D Technology & Stereoscopic film development to bring characters to life.

I always felt Cameron had that charisma to bring forth an emotional rollercoaster backed up by state of art technology a 'la bollywoodesque

The film boasts of a dedicated set of actors in particular SamWorthington as Jake Sully. 

Cameron had this sub-concious attraction to the Hindu mythology hence the name ' Avatar' , and predominance of color blue in the film confirms that.

 

Watching Avatar in 3-D cinemascope will always be a cherished event  

It will surely have a lasting impact on the face of filmaking in years to come .. 

Watch Avatar for Cameron's  wizardary  ... !!

Rating : 5.0/5.0

2012 : by Roland Emmerich

Apocalypse films have been abundant from the West

2012 is no different

CGI mastery is at helm in Hollywood

2012 reminds us of the Mayan prophecy : End of the World!

Perfect re-hash of films :

The Perfect Storm

The Day After Tomorrow

Deep Impact

Godzilla

Twister

Rating : 2.5 /5.0

Children of Men : by Alfonso Cuarón

Children of Men is set as a dystopian fiction film with a troupe of brilliant artists , 'Claine' , 'Moore' & 'Owen'.

The world is set in 2027 , United Kingdom ,where the world is seeing infertility as a major concern , no human child born in last 18 years.

The world is collapsing with the exception UK as the only sane state , seeing millions of refugees take shelter. As an aftermath it has developed into a military police confinement.

Theo played by Clive Owen embarks on a journey to fetch travel permits for a young refugee girl named Kee for a substantial money.

Theo is flummoxed when he comes to know , Kee is pregnant , the glimmer of hope for mankind.

This forms the backdrop of the film , with Theo's objective to transport Kee to safety , and reach the 'Human Project' team working towards curing human infertility.

Some of the sequences in the movie had me boggled , specifically the 'Single Shot' sequences in extremely complex action scenes : -

• Theo searches for Kee in abandoned building where cross-firing is crescendo ( 454 sec)
• Kee gives birth to a child (200 sec )
• Theo , Kee & the baby walk past astonished soldiers of war.

The performances are exemplary , screenplay keeps the audience hooked , & the climax bowls you over.

No wonder , IMDB rates it amongst the best 250 flicks.

Rating : 4.0/5.0

District 9 : by Neill Blomkamp

District 9 talks about a story of extra-terrestial species living on the face of earth past 20 years.

Story starts in a faux-documentary fashion , giving snippets on the backdrop of the film. It introduces the protagonist Wikus played brilliantly by novice Sharlto Copley.

MNU , a private contractor is hired with the objective of re-locating the 'Prawns' (derogatory name for 'Aliens') from the infamous slum District 9 to a better facility in Johannesburg , South Africa.

The realism of the movie struck me big time making it a surreal experience.

The film's backbone is the performance by Sharlto , giving an impression that he is a virtuoso.

Key Moments:

• Wikus tet-e-tet with Prawns (in particular Christopher) in District 9 slums
• The MNU undercurrents and the volatile images on Television Networks
• Transformation of Wikus
• Heart Wrenching Climax

The flick draws parallel with the historical events that took place in Cape Town area named District 6 on the grounds of apartheid.

Recommended for Sci-Fi fans , strict no-no for people aversive to bloodshed.

Rating : 4.0 /5.0

WALL-E : by Andrew Stanton

Wall-E is yet another attempt by Pixar Studios to break the boundaries in the field of animation , they have just flabbergasted me with the uninhibited artistry at display.

Wall-E is not just a run-of-the-mill CGX film , it takes you on a sci-fi ride which was last seen in E.T. 

Wall-E , an acronym, Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth , is the last robot on the face of earth with the daily chore of compacting the trash. 

The mankind was airlifted 700 years ago into space , in view of unbearable contamination on Earth . 

Wall-E , all these years , collected human artifacts , and connected emotionally to humans just by experiencing vicariously.

One fine day , an EVE robot lands on the planet , with the directive to find plant-life on earth.

Henceforth , begins an emotional journey of discovery and companionship , with a tinge of Sci-Fi hoopla.

Seeing the film , I can reiterate without hesitation ...... 

Wall-E is amongst the best characters on celluloid animation or otherwise!!!

Sigh!! ....  I fell in love with Wall-E  ....  Sigh!!  ... 

...  ironically any human would!

Rating :  5.0/5.0